Mikel Arteta responds to criticism of Kai Havertz at Arsenal
Mikel Arteta has backed Kai Havertz to win over Arsenal's supporters after the German endured a frustrating afternoon against Fulham.
The Gunners immediately went a goal behind at the Emirates Stadium, with Andreas Pereira seizing on Bukayo Saka's mistake to slot beyond Aaron Ramsdale.
Arsenal eventually got back into the game before taking the lead, thanks to Saka's penalty and Eddie Nketiah's first goal of the season, but they couldn't hold on despite Fulham having Calvin Bassey sent off on his first Premier League start.
Joao Palhinha grabbed Fulham's equaliser, punishing a lapse in concentration from Arsenal to take away a valuable point and a 2-2 draw.
One of the main talking points of the game was the audible frustration levelled at summer signing Havertz, who drew the ire of the crowd for playing the ball backwards instead of advancing forward. It capped a frustrating afternoon for the German, who often popped up in clever positions without ever really impacting the game.
Asked in his post-match press conference if he was worried about Arsenal's fans turning on Havertz already, Arteta brushed things off and backed Havertz to come good if given time.
«No, I saw an action when he played backwards and he could have turned. That’s more I think the demands of everybody to play forward and to impact the game in the final third because we had the urgency to win,» Arteta said.
On whether he can win over the fans, he continued: «Yes I think so. I think he’s done already really good things. Today it was tough in certain moments. He got in great areas and the ball didn’t arrive. In a lot of situations he should have scored a lot of goals already this season. That’s the thing that is missing there.»
Arteta also reserved special
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