Sky pundit Izzy Christiansen has criticised one Arsenal star after what she's seen from him on the field this season.
Arsenal's Premier League form
The north Londoners have started this new Premier League campaign with real aplomb overall, winning seven out of a possible 11 league matches so far over 2023/2024 and only just losing their first domestic game last weekend against Newcastle.
Their 1-0 defeat at St. James' Park spells the end of their early-season unbeaten run, with manager Mikel Arteta launching a public tirade after three decisions in the build up to Anthony Gordon's winner went against them.
“It is my duty to stand in front of you, to stand in front of the cameras, and give a very clear and honest assessment of what happened in the game," said Arteta on his post-Newcastle comments earlier this week.
“And this is what I did, reflect very openly on how I felt that the team played and how the game was conditioned by this results with the decisions that were made. It is the duty.
“My duty is to be defending my players, supporting my players, supporting my club, defending my people in the best possibly way and this is what I am going to time after time. “I do it, not the way I feel, (but) with the evidence and being as clear as possible."
After their Champions League clash with Sevilla last night, Arsenal take on Burnley at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday, but Sky's Christiansen believes they've been "figured out".
Christiansen criticises Havertz
Issuing a "brutally honest" claim on the Kelly and Wrighty Show (via TBR), Christiansen said that Arsenal may be in a transitional phase when it comes to their league form. She also said that summer signing Kai Havertz looked like a "lost puppy" against Sheffield United.
“If I’m brutally honest I think Arsenal have been figured out," said Christiansen. "I think they’re in a transitional period where the players they’ve brought in, Havertz, for example is still adapting to the structure of the midfield and it hasn’t worked for him yet. I imagine Arsenal fans are getting frustrated with that. If you’re going to challenge for a league title, I don’t think you can wait for someone to settle in.
“Against Sheffield United I watched Havertz like a hawk, and in that situation you have to be unselfish and you have to come to life when you get the ball, but with Havertz, he looked like a lost puppy out there. I was thinking ‘this is a game for you’. But again he didn’t really deliver against Newcastle.”
The Germany international hasn't exactly had the most brilliant of starts to life at Arsenal domestically, having joined the club from Chelsea for around £60 million in the summer window.
Havertz has scored one goal and assisted just one other in 11 league appearances under Arteta so far, with the 24-year-old still having many doubters to prove wrong. However, there is still plenty of time for him to justify his price tag.
