Mikel Arteta really happy with Kai Havertz’s display vs Sevilla

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Kai Havertz following the club’s 2-0 win over Sevilla in the Champions League group stage last night.

The Germany international has yet to score from open play for the Gunners, but he showed plenty of promise during last night’s European encounter.

Havertz failed to score with a header at the far post early on in the game and he thereafter caught the eye with his impressive distribution from midfield.

The forward had one shot on goal blocked by Sevilla’s defence while he had two more efforts off target. One of those could have easily nestled into the net.

Speaking after the victory, Arteta said that he has been impressed by Havertz over the past few outings and he was ‘really strong’ against the La Liga club.

He told Arsenal.com: “For me, against West Ham in the first half he was the best player, Newcastle one of the best, and today, again he was really strong, I’m really happy with him.”

Havertz needs to start making goal contributions

Havertz had another tidy game against Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium. He completed 91 per cent of his passes and won six ground and aerial duels over 90 minutes.

The former Chelsea man also made three tackles during the game and looked better going forward after starting from the right midfield role against the Andalusian side.

Despite the positives, Havertz finished another game without a goal contribution. This is bound to increase the pressure on the German who arrived on a huge transfer fee.

The 24-year-old definitely seems to be growing in confidence with his better movement in the final third, but he needs to be involved directly in goals sooner rather than later.

Arsenal welcome Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. In our view, it could be an ideal game for Havertz to score his maiden goal from open play for the Gunners.

Stats from Sofascore.com