‘Hiding to nothing’… ESPN pundit left baffled by what’s happened to 24-year-old Arsenal player recently

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Pundit Shaka Hislop has now been sharing his surprise over Germany’s treatment of Arsenal midfielder Kai Havertz over the international break.

Hislop was speaking on the ESPN FC podcast and couldn’t get his head around Julian Nagelsmann’s decision to play Havertz at left-back.

The pundit couldn’t identify the long-term thinking behind the move, and thought it left Germany exposed.

Hislop said: “Any hint of pace exposes Germany defensively. 

“I’m not sure how you’re supposed to deal with that by playing Havertz as a left-back, that’s not his position, he’s not going to have those instincts in terms of when to cover Rudiger, when Hummels might find himself out of position.

“Right now, I think it’s a hiding to nothing until they can identify better defensive partnerships.”

Of course, many Arsenal fans may agree with Hislop when watching Havertz for Germany over these two games.

Havertz has already been suffering the consequences of a positional change under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Signed as something of a shadow striker, Havertz is now being tasked with a lot more defensive responsibility.

Shaka Hislop thinks Arsenal’s Kai Havertz has no future as a full-back for Germany

Although it’s having an impact on his performances right now, Arteta’s plan with Havertz does have a purpose.

A player with his attributes could end up thriving in a number eight role with time.

However, there seems to be absolutely no chance that Kai Havertz will suddenly reinvent himself as a full-back.

Not only would his attacking instincts be wasted, but the German also isn’t a natural defender.

Havertz is taking time to adapt to his defensive responsibility at Arsenal, and Hislop is right in thinking he doesn’t need further complications with Germany.

It’s almost hard to remember that we are still in the early months of Havertz’s Arsenal career.

So much has been said about his time at the club thus far, and he must be feeling the burden of expectation.

However, he surely will trust the process under Arteta, a manager who clearly has so much faith in his skill set.

Although, David Dein has now been questioning the decision to sign Havertz in the first place.