“I really liked what I saw today” - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta heaps praise on Gunners duo after Bayer Leverkusen win
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Gunners duo Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus following his side's 4-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. Havertz and Jesus were both on song for the north London giants as they demolished the Bundesliga champions at the Emirates.
Arsenal opened the scoring through Oleksandr Zinchenko in the eighth minute before Leandro Trossard doubled the lead a minute later. Gabriel Jesus found the back of the net in the 38th minute while Kai Havertz scored the fourth goal in the 65th minute.
Adam Hlozek pegged one back for Bayer Leverkusen in the 76th minute in what proved to be a consolation goal. Following the game, Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Havertz and Jesus and the chemistry between the two. The Arsenal manager said, as quoted by HITC Sport:
“It’s something that you can see coming. It’s natural and it flows. There is good chemistry between them and Leo too, because those three all have that false nine profile."
Arteta added:
“I really liked what I saw today. You have to be very sensitive to read the information the players are giving you. Not only individually, but the chemistry within the units. How things flow on one side or the other."
The Gunners boss concluded:
“It’s telling something that we can still develop, especially on our left side. Those combinations are giving us options and they are all really, really good players so the competition is quite big there.”
Arsenal will kick off their Premier League season on Saturday, August 17, against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates. The Gunners will take on Ligue 1 side Lyon in their final pre-season friendly on Sunday, August 11.
Arsenal icon urges the Gunners to sign Premier League attacker
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has urged the Gunners to launch a move for Ollie Watkins. The Frenchman has claimed that the Aston Villa striker is a perfect fit for Mikel Arteta's system and will improve the team.
Petit has insisted that Watkins' holdup play and ability to find space behind defenders make him a perfect striker for the Gunners. He said:
"I'm a huge fan of Ollie Watkins. I love him! He's strong physically. He has the pace to run in behind defenders. He's able to fight with two defenders all the time and can hold up the ball.
"I think he would be perfect for the football that Arsēnal play. He has the ability to play one-on-one combinations and I think he would fit like a glove into an Arsenal team and system."
Watkins enjoyed a stellar last season for Aston Villa contributing with 27 goals and 13 assists in 53 appearances across competitions.