Michael Owen names "very poor" Arsenal star now proving doubters wrong
Michael Owen has praised Arsenal's Kai Havertz for proving his doubters wrong after his latest exploits against Brighton.
Havertz, who joined Arsenal from Chelsea in a £65million deal in June, struggled during his first few months at the Emirates. The Germany international, 24, scored just one goal in his first 12 Premier League appearances for the Gunners - and that was a penalty.
Yet Havertz is now delivering the goods for Mikel Arteta's side. He's scored four goals in his last six outings, including the winner at Brentford last month. His most recent strike came on Sunday, as Arsenal defeated Brighton 2-0 to go top of the Premier League.
The Gunners took the lead at the Emirates when Gabriel Jesus found the net after half-time. Brighton pushed for an equaliser, but Havertz scored late on to secure the points. Owen believes the former Chelsea star is now "showing signs of a bit of promise".
"Havertz has come into a little bit of form if he can continue this and grow into more of a permanent fixture and a confident player then that could, as the old saying go, be like a new signing," Owen told Premier League Productions after Sunday's game.
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Owen then referenced Havertz's slow start. He added: "He’s been very, very poor since he’s been at the club, but all of a sudden he’s showing signs of a bit of promise."
Although Havertz is only just winning over his doubters, his manager has always stood by him. Arteta was asked if the attacking player is now delivering the sort of performances he expects of him. "In terms of goals, yes," said the Gunners boss.
Havertz scored against Brighton on Sunday (Getty Images)Do you think Kai Havertz can become one of Arsenal's best players? Let us know in the comments below!
But Arteta defiantly added: "In terms of performances it’s exactly the same as he was at the start of the season. You can see he’s confident and enjoying his football."
Havertz spoke to Arsenal's media team after Sunday's game and admitted his confidence has grown in recent weeks thanks to his scoring exploits. "Your confidence always goes high when you score and contribute," said the Champions League winner.
"That’s the same with me, I’m happy and now it’s about being consistent with it, regularly week-by-week, and trying to keep that form going. It was a tough game (against) a good team, I think we should have scored some goals in the first half, but we talked about some things at half-time and made it a bit better.
"We always do some adjustments of course, but he said we need to keep on going, score a goal and get a good feeling out there. We also started the second half very well, had a couple of chances and sometimes set-pieces are so important, scored from it and sometimes it opens the door in a game. Today it did, and we are all very delighted."
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