Stevie Nicol and Don Hutchison have questioned what Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard will provide Arsenal from a defensive aspect after watching them in pre-season over in America.
Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the summer when Manchester United recorded a 2-0 win in New York – there was controversy after a tackle from Lisandro Martinez, with Mikel Arteta sharing his thoughts.
But what also caught the eye was the roles new signing Kai Havertz and current captain Martin Odegaard played in the middle of the park for Arsenal.
ESPN duo and former top-flight stars Nicol and Hutchison shared their doubts by stating ‘I don’t know what he gives you’ when talking about Havertz’s defensive contribution.
Whilst the German played as a number nine for Chelsea, there is now every possibility that he is used far deeper under Mikel Arteta.
But with the creative Odegaard alongside him, both Nicol and Hutchison aren’t sure that is going to work when they have to track back.
“I was watching Odegaard to the right-hand side, but more Kai Havertz to the left of that three,” said Hutchison. “Declan Rice is a fantastic player.
“But if Mikel Arteta is going to persist with playing Kai Havertz in a midfield role, then he has to make sure offensively he does well because he is a good player. But defensively, I am not sure what Kai Havertz is going to do, in terms of, whether he is going to be the player that will be tracking back. When you look at that midfield, it’s amazing on paper.
“Defensively, maybe other teams in the Premier League think they can get at Kai Havertz and Odegaard tracking back.”
Nicol added: “You can see what Arteta is trying to get out of Havertz going forward. But I am with Don, in terms of the other side of the game, I don’t know what he gives you.”
Arteta has options
When Arsenal are playing the much tougher games, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Declan Rice is sitting in the middle of the park, with Thomas Partey next to him and Odegaard further forward.
Of course, he can be brave and opt to put Havertz in there, instead of Rice or Partey.
Also, don’t forget Jorginho, who has made a steady start to life at the Emirates and is the most experienced of the lot.
Either way, Arteta has more options to pick from and is in a far better place than he was 12 months ago, in terms of depth and experience in quality.
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