Kai Havertz sends message to Arsenal supporters after starring for Germany against France
Arsenal's Kai Havertz came off the bench in Germany's friendly against France on Tuesday (September 12) to make a telling impact.
With the hosts leading 1-0, the Arsenal forward provided the assist to Leroy Sane to double the lead with three minutes left. Although Antoine Griezman pulled one back from the spot two minutes later, Germany hung on to end their five-game winless run.
Germany will be happy with the win, which came after their shock 4-1 loss to Japan that got their former head coach Hansi Flick sacked from the job last week.
Havertz will be boosted by his little cameo as he heads back to north London after the international break. Arsenal take on Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth, Manchester City and Chelsea in their next five Premier League games.
They also visit Brentford for a third-round clash in the Carabao Cup on September 28 and also have to navigate PSV Eindhoven and Lens in the UEFA Champions League.
Taking to Instagram, the new Arsenal signing commented:
“Good end to a difficult week for the team,” said Havertz. “Back to London for a big month ahead with @arsenal!”
Kai Havertz has had a tough start to life at Arsenal
Signed from Chelsea for £65 million this summer, the pressure was on Havertz to deliver from game one at Arsenal. He debuted against Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Wembley, where he started as a false nine.
Havertz failed to impact the game, though, missing a scuffled chance as Arsenal won on penalties. Four games into the league, Havertz has started all of them, with the Gunners registering three wins and one draw.
Havertz, though, has failed to make any goal contribution and has missed quite a few big chances from inside the box. These are still early days in Mikel Arteta's system for the big German, who is only 24, and he might yet deliver on his potential.
However, for now, the onus is very much on the former Chelsea player to live up to his lofty price tag in a pressure-inducing environment to silence his detractors.