Mikel Arteta has been told that Kai Havertz should not start for Arsenal when the Premier League returns, despite the Gunners making him their top earner.
Havertz arrived at the Emirates Stadium at the end of June in a deal worth £65million, having failed to establish himself at Chelsea. The Gunners opted to hand him a mega wage despite his failure to impress at Stamford Bridge.
It is a salary that places him at the top of Arsenal's wage structure, ahead of the likes of captain Martin Odegaard and star academy product Bukayo Saka. Despite that though, Havertz would appear to be facing a battle to be included in Arsenal's starting line-up.
Boss Arteta deployed a 4-3-3 system last term as the Gunners battled for the title, with Odegaard, Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli in the attacking positions. A space could open up in midfield if Thomas Partey departs the club.
But former Premier League star Darren Bent believes that the Gunners should keep hold of the Ghanian international. He also urged Arteta to bench Havertz, insisting there were better options in the squad.
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He tweeted: "I'd keep Thomas Partey, Partey Rice Odegaard that's a serious midfield combination, give Rice more of a license to go forward." A Gunners fan replied: "Where's Havertz playing then", to which Bent responded: "He don't."
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Kai Havertz go straight into Arsenal's starting line-up? Comment below.
Mikel Arteta has been warned against playing Kai Havertz (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)Arteta does not appear likely to take Bent's advice on board though, handing him his debut in the 1-1 draw against Nurnberg. And the Spaniard has previously spoken of his delight at signing the German.
“Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play," the Gunners boss said.
“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”
Havertz also appears to have assurances that he will be given a large role within Arteta's squad. He did however appear to admit that he will be joining a squad that is full of talented players.
"It's super exciting for me personally. I'm so glad to join this amazing club. This club has such a big history, and I hope we we can achieve lots of things, and I'm just looking forward to meeting all the players, the staff, and yeah, it's going to be exciting," he said.
"I think the family mentality that the team has on the pitch is one of the reasons why it so hard to play against Arsenal. Obviously there's so many talented players and there’s big room to achieve big things as well."
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