Mikel Arteta could get the best out of Kai Havertz if he chooses to follow the lead of Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann by playing the 24-year-old as an inverted left-back. The Arsenal forward played in the unfamiliar role for his country in two recent international friendlies with varying degrees of success.
During a 3-2 loss against Turkey on Saturday he was one of the best players on the pitch and even got on the score sheet while he was far quieter when Die Mannschaft took on Austria three days later.
His performance against Turkey was arguably his best of the season so far and it will have undoubtedly caught Arteta’s eye. The Spaniard has been struggling to find where Havertz fits into Arsenal’s system since signing him from Chelsea in the summer for £65million and may consider playing him at left-back as Nagelsmann did.
Germany’s head coach is known for his tactical fluidity which is exactly what led him to being mooted as Arsene Wenger’s successor at Arsenal back in 2018 when he was still managing Hoffenheim.
But not everyone is a fan of his willingness to experiment. Writing in his column for Sky Germany, Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus described Nagelsmann’s decision to play Havertz at left-back as a “slap in the face”. “Havertz brings a lot of quality, but he was not trained in this position, but in the offensive [areas] and mainly centrally,” he wrote.
“I accept that the national coach wanted to try something out, but I hope it doesn’t happen again – even though Havertz was one of the better players against Turkey. If we want to have his qualities in the team, we have to find a place where he can show the extra class that he partly embodied during the last World Cup. It can’t be a permanent solution if we suddenly let one of the best German offensive players of recent years play full-back.
“This is also a slap in the face to those who have played there recently, even if there were problems on the left side of the defence recently.’ After Havertz’s goal, it initially looked as if Nagelsmann’s plan might work, but as a coach you have to think long-term, not just from one game to the next.
“The world-class quality that Nagelsmann sees in Havertz has so far only shown on the offensive. At Bayern, Nagelsmann didn’t necessarily rely on a nine, so he could use Havertz as a false nine, Leroy Sane on the right, Jamal Musiala in the middle and Florian Wirtz on the half-left or left side.”
