honestly i don’t want goals from havertz, i want assists and key passes. i would love for him to slot in where nketiah is as the deputy CF, but under arteta atp bro is a midfielder. goals are nice but not mandatory

his game is growing, unevenly. there are moments here and there that if you cut and pasted into a collage would amount to a genuinely good CM performance. he is at his best in this role when he takes advantage of his stride, like that shot in the second half.

as a midfielder his only chance at getting up there and being worth his fee and wage is learning to become a transition monster. the agility to turn, the dribbling to beat his man, making passes while in full gallop. our expectations of him fail him and fail us. he’s not the xhaka upgrade, he’s not late entry into the box sneak to eat up the cutback. he’s a donkey who’s salvation is becoming a stallion.

more and more i think outside of his off-ball prowess and aerial dominance in the midfield, perhaps this is what arteta sees in havertz’s profile. someone who, if he can master his lanky awkward physical form, can eat up the entire middle third with a single 1-2 then make the key pass prior to a goal, or the assist, or do that shot against sevilla but it goes in

he’s the abou diaby replacement