Richard Keys: Arsenal player Kai Havertz is Mesut Ozil without the talent
Richard Keys has slammed Kai Havertz for failing to make an impact since joining Arsenal from Chelsea earlier this summer.
Fulham held the Gunners to a 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with an 87th-minute equaliser denying the hosts a chance to maintain a 100% start to the 2023-24 Premier League campaign having won their first two games against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
Manager Mikel Arteta started Havertz in midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard before withdrawing him in the 56th minute for Fabio Vieira.
The Portuguese provided Eddie Nketiah with the assist for the second goal in the few minutes he spent on the pitch, and Keys believes the German is just another Mesut Ozil without any talent having struggled again.
“Havertz is the new Ozil without the talent,” the former Sky Sports pundit said on beIN SPORTS.
“And the reason I say that is because both are enigmas. They did not know what to do with Ozil and sold him.”
The 24-year-old has started all three Premier League games this term and also started in the Community Shield game against Manchester City, but he is without a goal or assist so far.
Arteta defended Havertz after the match, claiming he got in some great areas again but the ball did not arrive.
The former Bayer Leverkusen star impressed in the Bundesliga, bagging 46 goals and 31 assists in 150 games, but he has not particularly impressed since moving to England, ending his time at Chelsea with 32 goals and 15 assists in 139 games.
Arsenal play Manchester United next weekend before the international break and whether Arteta could be tempted to drop Havertz remains to be seen.
Vieira will be hoping he did enough to earn a spot in the starting XI after his performance yesterday, and it will be interesting to see what the manager decides next week.
