Kai Havertz has once again found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, this time due to his performance in the MLS skills challenge during Arsenal’s pre-season tour in the United States.
The German midfielder previously spent three years at Chelsea, but his time at Stamford Bridge was marked by inconsistent performances and a struggle to make a consistent impact.
This led to questions from fans regarding his role and fit within the team, despite Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta suggesting that Havertz would feature in midfield.
Havertz made his debut for Arsenal in a 1-1 draw against Nuremberg during the team’s first pre-season game.
However, even though he only played for one half, his underwhelming performance did not go unnoticed.
Havertz’s performance worries Gunners
Arsenal named a team of 10 for the MLS All-stars skills challenge at the Audi Field, including two goalkeepers, and they participated in a series of challenges, including cross and volley and touchdown challenges.
As seen in a video on Twitter by Men in Blazers, Havertz failed to score in the cross and volley challenge, becoming the first player to do so in the competition’s history.
The 24-year-old is getting trolled on social media, particularly by Chelsea fans, while for his new fans, it reiterates their initial thoughts that he was a needless signing.
He may have been getting the heat for his performance in that challenge, but Marca reports that he scored a competition-high of 86 points in the touchdown challenge to give Arsenal the victory.
Arteta asks for patience
Sports Brief reported that Arteta asked for patience over Havertz as he looks forward to studying the player more and finding a solution that suits him and the team.
This came after fans voiced their displeasure at the player’s performance in their first preseason game, where he was deployed as a left-sided number 8 but struggled to make an impact.