‘Huge question mark’…Pundit thinks Arteta wouldn’t start 24-year-old if Arsenal played Man City tomorrow

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Craig Burley has issued his verdict on Kai Havertz after the Arsenal summer signing scored once again on Tuesday as the Gunners beat Luton in a seven-goal thriller.

Burley was speaking on ESPN as the Germany international scored his third goal in his last four appearances for Mikel Arteta’s side on Tuesday night.

Kai Havertz is certainly starting to win Arsenal fans over. The 24-year-old seemed a baffling signing after an underwhelming time at Chelsea.

Craig Burley says there’s major question marks over Kai Havertz despite Arsenal win

It took a long time for Havertz to really contribute anything of note at Arsenal. But he appears to have turned a corner more recently.

It was Havertz who set up the winning goal against Manchester City. And he has now scored three in his last four in all competitions, including the third Arsenal goal against Luton last night.

However, Craig Burley is not convinced that Havertz has completely found his feet at Arsenal just yet, noting that he needs to do a lot more than simply score a few goals for the side.

“You can’t argue if you’re stepping up with a couple of important goals. But I still think there’s a huge question mark about his overall performance and his contribution in the game as a whole,” he told ESPN. “As much as this has been an uplifting period for Havertz, and boy has he been under the scrutiny, not just for Arsenal, but for his country as well where Julian Nagelsmann has been playing him out of position, playing him in crazy positions like left-back, left wing-back, and performances haven’t been very good for Germany, so he’s probably getting it both barrels back in Germany as well. So his confidence is at a low. So the couple of goals that he’s scored in the league have been important.

“But I think if you said to Mikel Arteta, look, you’re playing Man City tomorrow or Liverpool, would Kai Havertz be in the team all things being equal, the answer’s probably no.

“I’m a big believer that Kai Havertz has certainly improved the squad, but not necessarily the first XI.”

Gunners star on right path now

It is an interesting debate. Havertz’s supporters will probably suggest that it does not matter a great deal about his overall contribution if he is regularly scoring.

But there were times where some may have forgotten that Havertz was on the pitch yesterday. And against a team like Luton, you would have probably been looking to the attacking midfielder to really make a lot more happen – particularly when you consider how much he cost.

If his recent form is a sign of what is to come from Havertz, then Arsenal will be vindicated. And many of us will have to hold our hands up and say that we got it wrong.

However, Burley clearly feels that he still has a long way to go to silence all of his doubters.