Merson claims Arteta is playing ‘struggling’ Arsenal star in the wrong position
Paul Merson thinks Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is failing to get the best out of Kai Havertz as he’s playing the German in the wrong position.
The Gunners climbed up to second in the Premier League table on Saturday as they beat Burnley 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Havertz was among the big-name arrivals at Arsenal over the summer but the Germany international has yet to impress consistently in a Gunners shirt.
The 24-year-old, who arrived from Chelsea in the last transfer window, has contributed just one goal and one assist in 19 appearances in all competitions this season.
Havertz has been playing predominantly in midfield for Arsenal this season but Merson reckons he would perform better as a centre forward.
“He’s struggling a bit,” Merson told Sky Sports. “He had a shot that got blocked, if you’ve got four in four you hit that and it gets deflected or you hit it sweetly and it goes in.
“I feel sorry for him, I don’t think he’s a midfield player I think he’s a centre forward. He’s 6ft 4in, maybe he’s a No.10.
“What he did do and they did well Arsenal they got the ball in the box and he got in the box.
“He’s a big lad I hope he does well I think he’s a special player and he’s struggling. Everyone struggles in their career and he’s having that moment and the moment and hopefully he gets through it.”
Arsenal have moved level on points with Manchester City – who face Chelsea on Sunday – and Arteta was happy with what he saw from his side against Burnley on Saturday.
“The level and the consistency the team is showing, how we are playing, how the team is competing, we are always there. The team is showing real maturity as well as a lot of hunger to be there and show a bit of bite and teeth in the right moments, and today we’ve done that really well I think.
“I’m really pleased with the performance. The way the team played, how much we generated, the approach we had from the beginning.
“We talked about it last night, that it was going to be tough. We’ve played a lot of games, a lot of minutes and this was going to be something very different to the last two games, and the team was really mature. Patient, but with the right aggression as well, and I think we fully deserved to win the game.”
