Arsenal sent clear Balogun message after Mikel Arteta transfer decision

Mikel Arteta's call is starting to pay off. It comes with inconsistency and uncertainty but the impact is being felt. His ace in the pack is working, just about, but in a way different to how most imagined.

A 'silky German' as Chelsea fans labelled Kai Havertz following the Champions League win in 2021, has not been an apt description for much of his time in England. 'Slightly odd German with a lot of averageness but pretty good heading' doesn't ring quite as nicely in a chant though.

For Arteta it really doesn't matter because for now at least he has found a role for Havertz. Somewhat bizzarely it is more akin to a Peter Crouch-like positional demand than that of Michael Ballack, Zinedine Zidane or Dennis Bergkamp, all players he has been compared to in the past.

Against Brentford Arteta turned to Havertz with Gabriel Jesus coming back from another lengthy period out. The pair, small and tall, silky and often clumsy, are diametrically opposed with movement, output and fit for Arsenal. The fact that Havertz was actually left on the bench until 10 minutes from the end, 15 minutes after Jesus had left the field, tells its own story. For all the control that his Spanish boss likes to have this was evidence above all that the industrial approach was needed.

Havertz is no longer seen as the impact player to break open a defence with a ghosting run, that was actually Eddie Nketiah's role more than anything. Instead the 24-year-old is a big man to get the ball up to. Get to it he did, scoring a first open play goal for the club having arrived in the summer for over £60million ($75m). A potentially huge moment for Havertz but just as likely a flash in the pan.

It has been eight months since he last scored a league goal with his feet from open play. This is partially why Arteta was so keen to play Havertz as a midfielder, or at least a little deeper, when signed over the summer but he lacks fundamental physicality, pace and general passing brilliance to play that role.If he doesn't have the confidence or attributes to play up front there is little outside of his attacking play to suggest that moving him back 30 yards will make too much difference, and so it has proved. If Arteta sees him as a striker then it's hard to believe that it was meant to work out as an Olivier Giroud-type super sub. If he's a midfielder then the profiling was wildly out of sorts and frankly miles off in the summer.

It all leaves the feeling that something went wrong. Havertz ended up at Arsenal with a chance to show potential, to unleash himself in a functioning team, something not afforded to him at Chelsea. Yet his struggles go on and there is a big Folarin Balogun shaped question remaining.

If Havertz is destined not to play as a midfielder (that often, at least) then the optics of Arsenal's transfers over the summer need to be examined again. He is effectively acting as some form of occupational striker, making him currently third choice in that role and even then it's not a natural slot. He is the last option for desperate measures more than a game-changing option.

Over the summer Arsenal let a player that had just scored over 20 league goals leave the club. Balogun, who really never looked like staying, can be feeling quite hard done by. As he looked for first team football, something demanded by a truly impressive breakout campaign at Stade de Reims in Ligue 1 last year, Balogun already had Jesus and Nketiah ahead of himself but offered a different profile.

At 22 he is the youngest of the lot, Havertz included, and is the most natural finisher. Had he been in Nketiah's shoes there is every reason to suggest his output would have been just the same if not greater. As Arteta looks to balance fitness and injuries across the frontline, moving Jesus to the right on occasion and even playing without Bukayo Saka on the odd moment he's not ready, Balogun is a genuine answer to plenty of questions, including how to break down low-blocks with his feet and head.

For less than £35million ($44m) Arsenal let him go as the lines between Havertz's quality and his potential grow thicker it is worth acknowledging just how damaging this call could turn out to be. Balogun has four goals this season for Monaco as he continues to learn a new language having moved country permanently. He has those goals in just seven league starts as well.

His form for USMNT is impressive with three in eight and very few players of his age group have had the sort of last 18 months that he has. It hasn't stopped him coming back to support Havertz though. Posting on Instagram after the game the current Arsenal forward wrote: 

"BIG win on the road!! Thank you for all the support [red heart emoji] Another big game to prepare for now."Balogun was one of many to reply and simply put a freezing cold face emoji in the comments. The pair were working together during pre-season before Balogun was eventually sold to Monaco and it was in some ways the arrival of Havertz that really marked the end of his time in north London.

Having come through the club's academy as one of the best prospects it was without a real shot at first team success that he was sold. Balogun made it clear that he didn't want another loan and that first team football was needed for his development whilst Arteta wasn't in a position to grant that to him with Jesus and Nketiah ahead.

It wasn't a straight fight between Balogun and Havertz at all really but as the season goes on it looks like the two would have come in each other's way after all. If Arteta really wanted a £60million ($75m) player to go directly too then maybe the right decision was made but as Balogun impresses away from the Emirates Stadium and Havertz continues to baffle more than surprise, questions remain.