The 24-year-old joined Arsenal from Chelsea in the summer for a fee of £65 million. Unfortunately, his start to life at the Emirates has not gone as planned, and he has failed to impress as expected. Because of his dismal performances, Gooners have been on his case.
Ballack, reflecting on the predicament the ex-Bayer Leverkusen player is in, has stated that he has confidence in the Arsenal man, whom he knows has exceptional skills, but he wants him to force his way into the Arsenal team with more firmness and a better mindset by any means available and shouldn’t consider an exit.
On Sport Bild, Ballack said: “Kai Havertz has outstanding skills. But as already mentioned, he seems a bit too reserved for me.
“You need a certain robustness and mentality, especially abroad, to assert yourself in difficult situations. I hope he gets it done. In my opinion, it is still too early for that (an exit). He should assert himself at Arsenal by all means possible.”
I suppose the ball is now in Havertz’s court. After all the help he’s received, he needs to find his feet quickly.
Mikel Arteta has a history of bringing out the best out of players who have fallen short of their potential. Arteta has developed Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka, and Gabriel Martinelli into world-class players, so there is hope for Havertz in the future.
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