Mikel Arteta showed his utmost patience with rookie Kai Havertz despite his unimpressive performance in the first rounds. Will he still maintain that steadfastness when Fabio Vieira is ready to take his place?
Achievement is a kind of pressure that can destroy any attempt of a coach. Coach Arteta certainly faces a lot of pressure on whether to start Havertz against MU after his soulless performance in the previous round.
Be patient with Havertz like he did with Xhaka
In the end, the Spanish coach continues to put his trust in this 24-year-old player. He did not play a good match at all, when his sloppy pass became the source of MU’s opening goal.
However, coach Arteta did not feel the need to use harsh words or criticize the former Chelsea player. The 41-year-old coach even urged Arsenal fans to help Havertz with unconditional support for the 24-year-old. To make his argument more convincing, he took evidence from the fact that names like Aaron Ramsdale or Martin Odegaard also took a lot of time to adapt to the playing style of the Emirates Stadium team: “It’s difficult to ask for much. than in the fans, but my feeling is that if we give Havertz time, we will see the best in him. We have seen good examples with Ramsdale or Odegaard. Thanks for the support of us, they felt the love and played explosively.”
The Spanish military leader did not exaggerate, because Arsenal witnessed many names rising from doubt. One of these is Granit Xhaka, a midfielder who left question marks early in his career when his playing style was labeled violent with five red cards during his time with the Emirates Stadium. In the last two years of his career from 2021 to last year, the Swiss midfielder has just begun to change his image with coach Arteta adjusting his position in the direction that this player is allowed to contribute to the attacking front for the team. Arsenal. Emirates Stadium fans therefore have reason to regret when Xhaka left Arsenal to return to the Bundesliga to play. That is a detail that will strengthen Havertz, who has just left the unexpected years at Chelsea to find the opportunity to assert himself in a new environment.
Vieira deserves consideration
Arteta’s argument clearly has points that cannot be ignored if you look at how he brought Arsenal to runner-up last season. However, the home team at Emirates Stadium this season will have to fight on many fronts and patience will not always bring sweet results for the Spanish coach.
Looking at the performance against MU, two of the three main kicks in the midfield called Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. The remaining place is therefore a competition between Havertz and Fabio Vieira. The Portuguese midfielder played impressively in the draw with Fulham, contributing significantly to two Arsenal goals and continued to play well when he came on as a substitute in the match against MU.
Vieira can completely think about the opportunity to start after the national team focus period because Arsenal will then have to divide the fire for the Premier League, Champions League and Federation Cup. He is rated much higher than Emile Smith Rowe, who has not yet found his usual form and almost left Emirates Stadium on the last day of the summer transfer window. The question for coach Arteta is whether he has enough courage to dare to go against his thoughts about the Arsenal midfield. Rice and Odegaard are playing sublimely, but it would be better if the Spanish coach prioritized a Vieira capable of contributing to goals compared to Havertz, who only left sighs about good opportunities. Food has been wasted since the beginning of the season until now. Everyone waits for the next match against Everton, where the official lineup will reveal the message of this 41-year-old coach.