Got a feeling his first goal for us will be a delicate chip or a lob. Dunno why
4 Likes
https://twitter.com/paddyarsenal/status/1704604478664560873?s=46&t=LlMNFvsPPy2ozwuX8FhQrA
He makes a great point and one I should also realise
3 Likes
Respectfully the bar for performance has to be set higher for Havertz as heās been signed as a first team starter unlike Fabio V.
9 Likes
Do people expect more goals and assists from him than Granit Xhaka?
I wonder if thatās why thereās so much focus on him. He plays the same position as Granit but Granit was never seen as an attacking minded player.
Yes, Xhaka had a very productive year for his standards mind you, getting around 15 G/A I believe.
Long-term Havertz needs to be hitting even higher numbers.
Xhaka had a freak year in many ways though. He had 14 g+a on a total XG+xa of 10. He also started 36 matches.
Even a player like Gundogan who became a master of this role only once went over 12 league g+a.
In Havertz case, we would expect higher numbers if he plays as a striker at times. But if he is playing as a midfielder then 10-15 g+a is very good production as long as he contributes in other ways. So far he has been doing that. Heās not a brilliant passer but his defensive contribution is better than Xhakaās.
3 Likes
Yes, I think thatās where the real disconnect is for me.
Starting with those games last season when Arteta was subbing Xhaka for Vieira it made me think Arteta wanted that left eight position to evolve into a more attacking position with a player who had the ability to routinely contribute double digit goals.
I had no questions about Havertz as an attacker, my concern was always whether he would be able to learn to do the defensive stuff, dropping in at left back (I was still under the impression weād play with the same back four as last season and none of this Partey at RB bullshit).
But so far Havertz has done a pretty decent impression of Xhaka (minus the surprising goal tally) from last season. Itās competent but given the fact he signed from Chelsea, signed for a lot of money and on course to be one of those 007 memes before long, itās underwhelming in that context. Part of that context are my own expectations which may be unfair and Iām not going to go out of my way to kill the guy but Iām not going to pretend that I wanted him here or that itās somehow a good thing heās 0 goals and 0 assists so far.
I think for me the barometer is whether I can look at signing like that and say, given who we let go and how much we paid are we clearly better right now. I think right now the answer is that weāre about the same but that the price tag could push it into āeh, maybe that money wasnāt a great ideaā but itās a really small sample size even if I donāt think Havertz has the same built in excuse of adjusting to a new league. I think I might have to adjust what weāre going to get from that left eight.
3 Likes
Exactly.
A player that cost 60m, whoās an experienced PL player at a top European club, Havertz should be doing what Rice has done and performing at the level required almost straight away.
The problem is, heās never performed at that level since he came to the PL at Chelsea, so until he does, he should sit on the bench and not have excuses made for him.
1 Like
Good thing we got him on the cheap after such a bad run of form over three years. 
2 Likes
Iām rewatching the PSV game again.
What Havertz does well is he can stride through midfield and has great awareness. If he can add some strength, which heās severely lacking, and some shooting accuracy then weāre cooking with gas.
1 Like
The best part of it is, we take our time rebuilding his confidence and still getting our points.
Didnāt he break through the PSV midfield at one point but instead of moving forward he curved his run and then passed. Think a more confident player, even maybe one who isnāt a speed guy, keeps going.
3 Likes
Someone mentioned it yesterday, whatās missing from Kai right now is that ābiteā to take that extra man, to go for the ball when itās there for the taking.
An over the top ball was played into him and if he really tried, he couldāve pipped the keeper to that with a lob tbh, but he retracted/reacted so slow.
Properly pissed me off there. It was one on one and he decided to slow down the play.
1 Like
Looked better at CF. half decent game.
If he was sitting on anything other than double zeros for goals and assists for the season, he definitely keeps going. Think heās feeling the weight of it tbh.
Time to shake that off, then, and get stuck in.
Yeah luckily heās got lots of positive support to help him do that 
Itās not like these comments are beamed directly into Kaiās brain. Behind most of what you may deem as negativity, we still want him to thrive.
In comparison to xhaka, I would add that xhaka started as mainly as defensive mid. And he was a liability for most of it. It wasnāt until partey and zinchenkoās arrival that he was given a freer rein and proved somewhat effective. Xhaka also kept up his defensive work. Admittedly, I canāt say Iāve paid attention to that part of Kaiās game, but he doesnāt give you a lot to really applaud at the moment.
Vieira is younger and hasnāt been in country as long.
Can havertz be as good as odegaard? Sure. But itās up to him to start putting in the contributions to back that up.
4 Likes
The one thing that I can give Havertz is that heās putting in a shift.