Kai Havertz hits back at Arsenal transfer flop claims as Liverpool display busts myth

Kai Havertz has received an unsurprising yet frustrating amount of backlash following the defeat to Liverpool. The German international was no worse at finishing than any of his teammates on the dayas Arsenal fell to a 2-0 defeat to a Liverpool side that rode out a storm of chances from the Gunners before hitting back with a double sucker punch.

Havertz came into the XI after Gabriel Jesus had suffered a knee injury in the build-up to the game. The 24-year-old has been used in a multitude of positions since arriving from Chelsea in the summer for a serious fee of £65million.

Despite a period between the end of November and the start of December when Havertz was scoring goals and making significant contributions to the side’s points tally, he has gone a number of games since the 2-0 win over Brighton without scoring. This has seen the scapegoating emerge once again, especially with the transfer window now open and a lack of freedom to spend in the market.

Therefore, it is worth looking back on the defeat to Liverpool and Havertz’s contribution to the game. Most might remember the miss from the header which was a very clear opportunity to score in the fixture which certainly he should have done better from.

Secondly was the opportunity where the ball fell to Havertz to the right of the goal as he attempted to play in Reiss Nelson. As the images of both moments show below, he could have done better and in the second example, a small pass to Saka was by far the better option which he sadly wasn’t aware of at the time.

However, overall, Havertz offered a far more influential display than any of the centre-forward performances in the last three games prior to the arrival of Jurgen Klopp’s side. Looking at his average position and