Declan Rice, an Arsenal midfielder, appeared frustrated after Kai Havertz dropped a pass during their team’s Premier League matchup against Fulham.
German international Havertz left Chelsea for the Gunners in a deal reportedly worth £65 million after scoring 32 goals in three years there.
Last season, Mikel Arteta’s team came in second place to Manchester City in the Premier League, despite being at the top of the standings for the majority of the season. To win the championship, Pep Guardiola’s team passed them.
Arsenal has added reinforcements in response to falling short of winning the Premier League title this summer.
Along with Havertz, Rice arrived from West Ham in a £105 million deal to bolster the attacking options. Unfortunately, Jurrien Timber’s move from Ajax was hampered by the defender’s injury.
Havertz has made four appearances for the Gunners thus far in all competitions, but he has yet to score a goal for his new team.
Despite this, Arsenal hasn’t lost yet this season.
They’ve already won two games in the Premier League and drew one. They defeated City on penalties to win the Community Shield.
But a specific incident during Arsenal’s draw with Fulham, as well as Rice’s response, may be a good way to summarize Havertz’s time in North London thus far.
During the game, Havertz received the ball from the defense while he was in the final third with no Fulham players in sight.
The Cottagers’ back line appeared to be the ideal place to get the ball, turn, and apply pressure, but Havertz chose to do the opposite.
The forward attempted to pass the ball back to Rice in the middle of the field rather than moving forward.
Actually, the screenshot does Havertz a disservice. It’s worse lmaooo https://t.co/vRh99rVx4a pic on twitter.com/N7ZmZUsPDa.
Shallé_guun (@Pearl_FreeAfc), August 26, 2023.
But the Fulham player quickly intercepted the ball, and Rice’s reaction was obvious. He motioned to Havertz, indicating that other Arsenal players might have been in a better position to receive the ball.
On the 56th minute, Havertz was replaced by Fabio Vieira, who later assisted Eddie N⁶ketiah’s goal in the 2-2 draw, but the German’s manager, Mikel Arteta, defended him after the game.
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