Arsene Wenger has been critical of Kai Havertz’s output for Arsenal. Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Arsene Wenger will always retain the love and respect of Arsenal fans, though they might not appreciate the way he’s spoken about one current star.
The Frenchman left the club back in 2018, with current manager, Mikel Arteta, taking over in 2019 after Unai Emery’s short-lived tenure and Freddie Ljungberg’s month-long caretaker role came to an end.
Arsene Wenger’s latest comments could anger Arsenal fans
To date, the Spaniard hasn’t elevated the Gunners back to the promised land of a Premier League title, last won by Wenger’s Invincibles in the 2003/04 season, and that could be as a result of decisions like the one he made against Bournemouth recently.
Signing a Barcelona striker might well push the North Londoners on again this season, though Arteta clearly must accept the limitations of the players he has in his squad, and not try and meld them into something they’re clearly not.
Kai Havertz for example.
“He will never score the number of goals Kane scores.”
Arsene Wenger compares Kai Havertz and Harry Kane#beINUCL pic.twitter.com/t60S5h5TWZ— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) October 23, 2024
“That depends on the way you want to defend or the way you want to play,” Wenger said to beIN Sports when asked if he could choose between Havertz and England captain Harry Kane as his striker.
“Havertz is more of a contributor to the all around game, defensively he works very hard, offensively he scores less goals than Kane and will never score the number of goals that Kane scores. He’s more of a 10-and-a-half or a nine-and-a-half.
“Kane is the centre forward. You have to organise the team around Kane.”
Whilst Wenger is ostensibly correct about Havertz’s lack of goals when compared to an out and out striker such as Kane, it has to be borne in mind, that the German plays a very different attacking style to his contemporary.
It could even be argued that, in fact, Havertz’s all-round game is of much more use to the squad as a whole.
