Rio Ferdinand defends £65m Arsenal star as Mason Mount Man United point made

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has criticised Arsenal supporters for their treatment of summer signing Kai Havertz in recent times.

Havertz joined Mikel Arteta's side from Premier League rivals Chelsea over the summer, signing for £65million. It was a surprising deal for many of the Gunners faithful, some of whom have already started to heavily criticise the German international.

The former Bayer Leverkusen star endured a difficult afternoon on Saturday during the north Londoners' 2-2 draw against Fulham, with some fans jumping on the talented playmaker's lacklustre display. But Ferdinand has voiced his displeasure over the intense scrutiny, claiming that the 24-year-old needs time to adjust to his new team.

Speaking on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel, the ex-England international said: “You guys (Arsenal fans) are all over the place. With Havertz, I understand that he might not have hit the ground running, bit like Mason Mount at Man United.

«But the way that you guys are absolutely like: ‘get him out’, I don’t get it. If it was 10, 15 games, do you know what, I could see what they’re saying.

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»But it’s three games you know. People need time to adjust.”

Havertz has been operating in the left-sided number eight role for Arsenal so far this season, a similar position to the one Granit Xhaka played last season. The new arrival will hope that he can find similar success to his successor, who registered seven goals and seven assists in the Premier League across the 2022/23 campaign before securing a move to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen back last month.

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