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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has clarified whether Kai Havertz will be their starting forward this season. The Gunners are reportedly in the market for a specialist No. 9 and have been linked with Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal signed Havertz last summer from Chelsea for a reported transfer fee of £65 million. He was initially deployed as a central midfielder but struggled to make much of an impact during the first half of the season.
Amid Gabriel Jesus' injury woes and Eddie Nketiah's inconsistency, Arteta opted to play Havertz up front as his side's No. 9. The Germany international benefited from this as he ended the season with 14 goals and seven assists from 51 appearances across all competitions.
However, Arsenal fell short by two points as Manchester City won their fourth Premier League title in a row. While Havertz had a decent end to the season, many fans and pundits believed they had to sign a specialist striker in order to pip City to the title.
However, Arteta chose to go with a diplomatic approach when responding, telling ESPN (via The Boot Room):
“He has played mainly in two positions, as an attacking midfielder and as a nine, and yeah, he ended the season really strongly in that position. But he offers a lot of versatility and we have players up front that can in different positions, and that’s great. That brings more competition, more options, and hopefully more goals and better team.”
Gyokeres would be the ideal candidate to become the Gunners' starting No. 9. The 26-year-old scored 43 goals and provided 15 assists in 50 appearances across competitions last season, helping Sporting win the title, but would reportedly cost £86 million to sign.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta explains why he used Kai Havertz in midfield during recent 2-1 win against Manchester United
Arsenal continued their unbeaten run in pre-season, defeating Manchester United 2-1 at the SoFi Stadium on Saturday, July 27. However, fans noticed that Kai Havertz was deployed in central midfield, with Gabriel Jesus starting in attack, despite the former's struggles last season in that position.
However, Arteta quickly explained why he chose to do this, telling Football London (via HITC):
"Today, we played him there because we are really short in numbers in midfield, at the moment. We have to maintain a competitive team, so we decided to play him there.”
This move paid dividends for Arsenal as Jesus leveled the scores with a good goal in the 26th minute to cancel out Rasmus Hojlund's 10th-minute opener. Gabriel Martinelli then scored in the 81st minute to secure an impressive win against the Red Devils.
Havertz came on as a second-half substitute in the 71st minute but couldn't make much of an impact during his 19 minutes on the pitch. He won three duels and won both his tackles, but made just 11 touches in total.
