‘He’s done good things’, Arteta defends Havertz despite fans’ criticisms

Mikel Arteta has backed Kai Havertz to come good despite criticisms from Arsenal’s supporters.

The German endured a frustrating afternoon against Fulham on Saturday, with his performance drawing criticisms his way.

One moment in the game that got the crowd at the Emirates infuriated with the former Chelsea playmaker was when he played the ball backwards instead of advancing forward.

It capped a frustrating afternoon for the German, who often popped up in clever positions without ever really impacting the game.

Asked in his post-match press conference if he was worried about Arsenal’s fans turning on Havertz already, Arteta brushed things off and backed Havertz to come good if given time.

“No, I saw an action when he played backwards and he could have turned. That’s more I think the demands of everybody to play forward and to impact the game in the final third because we had the urgency to win,” Arteta said.

On whether he can win over the fans, he continued: “Yes I think so. I think he’s done already really good things. Today it was tough in certain moments. He got in great areas and the ball didn’t arrive. In a lot of situations he should have scored a lot of goals already this season. That’s the thing that is missing there.”

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