Craig Burley has slammed Arsenal star Kai Havertz after the midfielder’s poor performance against Manchester United on Sunday.
The Gunners signed the 24-year-old for a whopping £65million from Chelsea this summer. He has started each of Arsenal’s five matches this campaign but has struggled to showcase his abilities on the pitch.
The hosts started the game with a great chance falling at the feet of Havertz. He had the goal at his mercy but missed his kick from eight yards out. To make matters worse, a sloppy pass from him was intercepted by Christian Eriksen which led to Manchester United’s goal.
It seemed like the midfielder had made amends for his mistakes when he won a penalty in the second half. However, the decision was overturned after a VAR review. The north Londoners did manage to turn the game on its head with last-minute goals from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus.
Craig Burley feels Havertz is afraid to express himself and almost appears to be hiding on the pitch. While speaking to ESPN, he said:
“I think he’s looking like a bad player right now because it’s been for so long. And I think he’s putting himself in positions on the pitch where – and I think it was Shaka who said to me before we came on – you could suggest he’s hiding a little bit. And that’s just not a good scenario to be in. Look, you’ve got to ask yourself a question. Is City going to come back to the pack? That’s highly unlikely. Now, the gap’s only two points I know. It’s very early in the season.”
“When you’re chasing that kind of quality, can you afford to continue to say we’ve got a passenger, I paid a lot of money for him, we keep giving him time? It’s not just the results. Other players start to ask questions.”
Arsenal Fever View:
Arsenal fans had reservations about splashing such an amount on Havertz who did not have a great time at Chelsea. He won the Champions League with the Blues but scored just 19 goals in 91 appearances for them as a striker.
However, Mikel Arteta plans to deploy him in the midfield. He flourished as a midfielder while he played for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring over 50 goals.
The German brings plenty of Premier League and Champions League experience with him. He only recently turned 24 and will continue to develop as time progresses. Therefore, it is too early to judge his time at Arsenal based on just four Premier league appearances.
Read More: Arsenal legend David Seaman not happy with Thomas Partey role
