Undoubtedly, the Arsenal attack is underperforming; making a change is essential if Arteta wants them to lead us to glory. Mikel Arteta ought to abandon the use of Kai Havertz in the false 9 role; having the German striker take his place at the forefront and keep opposing defenders on their toes could be the way.
For several weeks, Havertz and Leandro Trossard have been operating within a system that blurs the lines between the roles of attacking midfielder and striker. I believe Arsenal is attempting to utilize two false #9s with Trossard and Havertz, but it doesn’t seem to be effective.
Trossard and Havertz frequently drop deep or move out wide. Thus the two are often too far away to reach the penalty box for tap-in crosses or cutbacks. As a result, they fail to adequately stretch the opponents’ defense.
Many of us didn’t have a problem with that, but following the Newcastle game, it became evident. We appreciate Havertz for his hard work, but ultimately, isn’t he the one who should be scoring the goals? Yesterday, he was all over the pitch, but not in the position he should occupy as a striker.
We contend that Havertz isn’t a conventional striker, yet let’s not overlook that at one point last season, we preferred him to stay away from the midfield. It is time for Arteta to simply ask Havertz to remain up front. Arteta, just play your striker where he ought to play.
Given teams like Newcastle are unwilling to alter Alexander Isak’s position, and Aston Villa also don’t play around with Watkins’ positioning, why should Arsenal consider playing their top striker out of position?
The fact that we didn’t sign #9 in the summer suggests that the German international convinced us. In the past five matches, Havertz has managed just one goal, which is dissappointing.
With Arteta telling Havertz to stay in his attacking position, he surely could enhance his goal-scoring statistics.