During Mikel Arteta’s drama-filled tenure at Arsenal, he has proceeded to make many big changes from the dugout and the training pitch.
From booting out Mesut Ozil when Arsenal were crying out for creativity to stripping Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang of the captaincy and then pushing him out of the door.
Those were brutal calls from Mikel Arteta, and when you fast forward to the present, they worked out very, very well.
But one other move that proved to be a major talking point was the summer arrival of Kai Havertz from London rivals, Chelsea.
There was a lot of negative noise around the German’s arrival, including questions of ‘Do Arsenal really need him’, which was touched upon by Stephen Warnock on The Football Show on Sky Sports.
The former Premier League left-back thinks all of that talk is now being shut down and people are no longer asking ‘where does he fit in?’ because he is now proving to be ‘great’ for the team.
That was showcased over the weekend when the Gunners, for the second week running, recorded a massive away win, this time beating Burnley 5-0 and Kai Havertz getting on the scoresheet.
Kai Havertz’s change at Arsenal
“Quite possibly,” said Warnock on Arsenal now finding a role for Kai Havertz. “It was always the plan for Mikel Arteta to integrate him into the team and want more goals and creativity from midfield.
“He has definitely brought that. The fact that we aren’t talking about him in a way of ‘where does he fit into this Arsenal team?’ There was talk at the beginning of the season ‘did they really need him?’
“I think he has been great for them, he really has. I am pleased for him because I hate to see players get a lot of stick about what they are good at, what they do and what they bring to a football team.
“But he has quality. He really has. We have always championed that on this show. We know he has got quality, it’s a matter of time, it’s a matter of the manager finding the best position for him or finding a way to bring it out of him. I think he has been great so far this season, so I am really pleased for him.”
Kai Havertz winning the title at Arsenal
There have been many critics of Havertz, some didn’t even let him settle before they were laying into him and his lack of qualities.
But it’s fair to say that if he ends up winning the Premier League title with Arsenal, then there is no better way to answer your critics.
Arsenal dropped to third in the Premier League table on Tuesday night after Manchester City won their game in hand against Brentford 1-0, Thierry Henry shared his thoughts.
Only two points separate the Gunners and leaders Liverpool, who play Luton Town on Wednesday night at Anfield.
But it’s something Arsenal simply have to ignore for now because they are in Champions League action against Porto on the same night.
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