Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

3 standout players from defeat in Carabao Cup

By William Upton

West Ham United's Mexican midfielder #19 Edson Alvarez (L) vies with Arsenal's German midfielder #29 Kai Havertz (R) during the English League Cup fourth round football match between West Ham United and Arsenal at The London Stadium, in east London, on November 1, 2023. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
West Ham United's Mexican midfielder #19 Edson Alvarez (L) vies with Arsenal's German midfielder #29 Kai Havertz (R) during the English League Cup fourth round football match between West Ham United and Arsenal at The London Stadium, in east London, on November 1, 2023. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

2. Kai Havertz

Criticising Kai Havertz has been the pastime of many, many people this season for not scoring goals and for being too weak or nonchalant with the ball. Mesut Ozil used to receive that same criticism, even though stats backed up the fact that he would run more than any other player on the pitch.

Havertz looked fired up yesterday, especially in the first half. He was flying into duels and tackles, getting fouled three times and fouling the opposition twice.

At one point in the first half, Havertz won the ball deep in West Ham territory, drew a foul and then rose in the box to glance the header towards goal, which Łukasz Fabiański pushed over for a corner. If that header went in, all the talk around Havertz would be completely different, which goes to show the fine margins in elite football.

His touch indeed let him down but the German continuously found himself in dangerous positions. Obviously, it would be better if Havertz had made better use of the opportunities, but for me, the very encouraging sign is that he is consistently finding pockets of space in dangerous positions.

I really think that Kai Havertz will have a great career in an Arsenal shirt.

Continued on the next slide…

Home/Arsenal News