Robbie Mustoe, a football analyst, claims that versatile Arsenal attacker Kai Havertz has not lived up to expectations in his job under Gunners boss Mikel Arteta. This topic arose after Arsenal’s startling 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday, December 31.
The Cottagers defeated the north London club in a comeback triumph, putting an end to their hopes of recovering first place in the league rankings. Arsenal have lost their previous three league games and are presently fourth in the table, five points behind leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal’s performance was described as “flat” by Robbie Mustoe, who also suggested that the former Chelsea attacker is “not effective” in his current position as a midfielder. Havertz has three goals in his past seven Premier League outings, but he was ineffective against Fulham. Notably, the 24-year-old German failed to score a single goal or finish a single dribble.
These worries prompted Mustoe to discuss Havertz on a recent edition of The 2 Robbies, saying (via TBR Football):
“They still appear flat, with no cutting edge to their attacking play.” Martinelli’s troubles persist, as do Kai Havertz’s struggles, and this is what it is: he’s ineffective and accomplishes nothing in there. We mentioned that making those runs around Jesus to start on the bench may be a chance for him to add goals and be productive, and this wasn’t one of them.”
Havertz has five goals and one assist in 28 appearances this season across all competitions.
Arsenal is in negotiations with a Ligue 1 club about recalling an on-loan attacker
According to L’Equipe, Arsenal are in talks to bring Marquinhos back from his loan stint at Nantes in January. Despite being supposed to be a full-season loan, the forward has not received enough playing experience to further his development.
So far this season, he has played in just one game and made one start. His total playing time in seven games has been 150 minutes. The Brazilian attacker has one assist for the Ligue 1 team thus far.
Marquinhos is expected to return to north London soon to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s attacking options. The 20-year-old has only made six appearances for Arsenal in his career.