"I still think they didn’t need to buy him" - Pundit believes Arsenal shouldn't have signed 24-year-old star in the summer
Former Chelsea left-back turned television pundit Scott Minto has claimed that Arsenal should not have signed Kai Havertz in the summer. The German international has enjoyed a rich vein of form of late but Minto is yet to be fully convinced by the former Bayer Leverkusen star.
Havertz has had to deal with a lot of scrutiny ever since he moved to the Premier League first to Chelsea and then to Arsenal. A rather shaky start to life at the Emirates raised questions regarding the Gunners' decision to sign the German.
While Havertz has silenced most of the critics with his improvement over the last few games, Scott Minto remains sceptical. Despite acknowledging Havertz's form, Minto insisted that he does not offer a lot apart from scoring goals.
Speaking on the Premier League All Access Podcast, he said, as quoted by The Boot Room:
“I wouldn’t call him key, but over the last few games I would say he’s justifying his tag. I still think they didn’t need to buy him, and I stand by that, but he’s stepping up isn’t he?”
Minto added:
“Kai Havertz is stepping up, he’s scoring in good moments, he’s getting that confidence and he’s getting more involved. One thing I would’ve said until recently is that if he’s not scoring what is he doing?”
Havertz joined Arsenal from London rivals Chelsea last summer in a deal worth a reported £65 million. He had a slow start to life at the north London side but has scored three goals and provided two assists in the last four games.
Mikel Arteta has used Havertz across the pitch in several roles but has managed to bring the most out of him of late using him and Odegaard as double false nine. The German has so far contributed with eight goals and three assists in 37 games across competitions.
Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal will not win the Premier League for one key reason
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that Arsenal might miss out on the Premier League title because of the away games they are yet to play. We are witnessing a nailbiting title race with three sides embroiled in it in the form of the Gunners alongside Liverpool and Manchester City.
However, Carragher has claimed that Arsenal's away games could let them down in the title race. He said:
"You have got tough away games. It’s Tottenham, City, Wolves, Brighton and Man United. I think that will just stop you. If Man City don’t lose points in the next four or five games, your last four or five are decent games, your tough ones are now. It’s got to be here or now for Arsenal."
At the moment, Mikel Arteta's side are third in the table with 61 points behind Liverpool and Manchester City who have 63 and 62 points, respectively. The Gunners led the table for the majority of the last year but saw Manchester City overtake them following a slump in form late in the season.