Gary Neville simply can’t believe manager sold 24-year-old to Arsenal this summer

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Gary Neville has admitted he was surprised that Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino allowed Kai Havertz to join Arsenal this summer.

Neville has been speaking on The Overlap’s latest fan debate and backed Havertz to be a success at Arsenal.

The 24-year-old completed a switch to the Emirates Stadium back in June and has featured heavily under Mikel Arteta throughout pre-season.

Havertz led the line for the Gunners on Sunday as Arteta’s men beat Manchester City on penalties to win the Community Shield.

And while the German international struggled during his time at Chelsea, Neville believes he will perform better under Arteta at Arsenal.

Neville ‘surprised’ Pochettino sold Havertz

Speaking on The Overlap, Neville discussed the addition of Havertz and admitted he was surprised to see Pochettino allow him to join Arsenal.

“I think he’s a very good player,” Neville said.

“I just looked at Arsenal’s frontline of Martinelli, Saka, Smith Rowe, Odegaard, Jesus, Havertz and Nketiah,” he added. “They’re all mobile, they can all play across the front.

“I think Havertz is a very good player and at Arsenal, he’ll be a lot better than he was at Chelsea.

“I was surprised Mauricio Pochettino let him go. I thought he’d want to work with him.”

Havertz failed to make a real impact at Chelsea, but he was often played out of position during his time in West London.

The versatile midfielder operated in a No10 role at Bayer Leverkusen where he thrived in Germany. He was mainly used as a make-shift striker at Chelsea due to their struggles in the forward department.

Arteta is expected to use Havertz in a midfield role at Arsenal, but he did replace the injured Jesus on Sunday as he led the line against City.