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‘Causes uncertainty’…Pundit says boss is trying to turn Arsenal player into 23-year-old Bayern Munich star
Lothar Matthaus has claimed that Julian Nagelsmann is trying to turn Kai Havertz into Alphonso Davies after the Arsenal star played at left-back for Germany during the international break.
Matthaus was speaking to after the hosts of next year’s European Championships lost to both Turkey and Austria in the last few days.
Julian Nagelsmann sprung a surprise with Kai Havertz for the two games. Arsenal fans are still largely wondering which position will get the best out of the 24-year-old. And the Germany boss decided to deploy him at left-back.
Lothar Matthaus thinks Julian Nagelsmann is trying to turn Kai Havertz into Alphonso Davies
Havertz did not have the best time, struggling to make any sort of impact against Austria. But Lothar Matthaus has laid the blame for Havertz’s struggles at Nagelsmann’s door.
Matthaus believes that Nagelsmann’s previous work has convinced him that he can convert Havertz into a left-back. And he is not so sure, particularly if he is not going to play there for Arsenal over the coming months.
“The coach may expect someone like Leverkusen’s Grimaldo to play left and right, but he was trained as a full-back. Havertz, Sane and Brandt are trained offensive players and will not play in these positions for their clubs in the next seven months,” he told .
“This also causes uncertainty among the other players. I know what Nagelsmann is up to, at FC Bayern Munich he preferred Alphonso Davies to the left and he now wants to make Havertz a Davies.”
Arsenal star needs something to click now
In fairness, Mikel Arteta does need to do something with the attacking midfielder himself. Unfortunately, it is hard to think of what Havertz has really done since moving to Arsenal – in a move which saw him become the club’s highest paid player.
More recently, he has been used as more of a squad player at the Emirates. And that appears to suit him a little more as it has taken some of the pressure off of Havertz.
It is hard to imagine that Arteta is going to start using him as a left-back anytime soon. That particular role is so important to how Arteta wants his team to play. And Havertz has not hit the ground running in the role.
Certainly, he has got a long, long way to go if he is going to get close to being as successful in the role as Alphonso Davies.