"He mis-controlled the ball on three occasions" - Pundit believes Arsenal have a player whose 'confidence is shattered'
Pundit John Giles reckons Arsenal attacker Kai Havertz is suffering from a crisis of confidence amidst the side's losing streak.
Following their 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool on January 7 in their FA Cup opener, Mikel Arteta's side have slumped to three straight defeats across competitions. They had ended 2023 with back-to-back league reverses, going down 2-0 at home to West Ham United before losing 2-1 at Fulham.
It meant that the Gunners twice missed a chance to go top of the league at the turn of the year and now find themselves five points off leaders Liverpool (45) in fourth.
Amidst the slump in form, the FA Cup defeat to the Reds last weekend couldn't have come at a worse time, with Havertz guilty of squandering numerous scoring opportunities. On the Off The Ball podcast (via TBR), Giles explained how the German's profligacy in front of goal is impacting the Gunners:
“They don’t look it at the moment. Who is there who you can depend on to score the goals? They don’t look like they have.
"Havertz, he looks as if his confidence is shattered, watching the game against Liverpool, they made chance after chance, and he had about three chances and he mis-controlled the ball on three occasions, which is the worst thing you can do as a striker, whether he’s nervous, it doesn’t matter, if he’s not scoring goals, he’s not scoring goals."
The Gunners return to Premier League action at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday (January 20).
Arsenal forward Marquinhos recalled from loan spell
Arsenal have recalled Brazilian attacker Marquinhos from his loan spell at Ligue 1 side Nantes, as confirmed by the club on their website.
The 20-year-old is set to join his Under-23 compatriots in Venezuela for the 2024 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. Marquinhos made a goalscoring debut for the Gunners in their UEFA Europa League win over FC Zurich in September 2022.
Six months later, he was loaned out to Championship side Norwich City for the season. On his return, Marquinhos was loaned out to Nantes, where he laid out an assist in seven Ligue 1 appearances.