Martin Keown says Arsenal player has proven him wrong after Luton win

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Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table on Wednesday night after registering a routine 2-0 win over Luton Town.

The Gunners, buoyed by their point at Manchester City last Sunday, barely got out of second gear against the Hatters at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal opened the scoring in the 24th minute, Kai Havertz squaring the ball for Martin Odegaard to side-foot home after great work from Emile Smith Rowe in winning back possession.

The Hale End graduate, who was making his first start since January, played a part in the second before the break, cutting the ball back from the by-line and forcing an own goal from Daiki Hashioka.

Havertz once again impressed for Arsenal, showing how far he has come since struggling in the first half of his maiden season at the Emirates Stadium.

The 24-year-old was a £65million signing for the Gunners from Chelsea last summer. And though it took him a little while to find his feet, he’s now firing on all cylinders.

Havertz has primarily been used as a left-sided midfielder this season, but has also been playing as a false nine. This is where he played against Luton, to great effect.

What has Martin Keown said about Kai Havertz?

Martin Keown, speaking on TNT Sports, said he liked what he saw from the Arsenal summer signing, praising his progress over the course of the season.

Keown admits he “was not sure” about Havertz after his move from Chelsea in the summer, but believes he has become crucial for Arsenal.

“It was one of those where I looked at it when he came in and I thought ‘I’m just going to hold up my opinion’,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure at the beginning. In the Community Shield, he played as a centre-forward and I didn’t see the work rate or the running into the channels, and [Eddie] Nketiah came in the next game and I saw that change.

“Then they moved him into midfield. Now he’s in his proper position as a front player. [He’s] very definitely [at his best there].”

It’s great to see Havertz finally gelling at Arsenal and showing the kind of form that made him such a highly sought-after player when he was at Bayer Leverkusen.

It just goes to show that you can’t write a player off even if he struggles in his first half-season, or in some cases, even the entirety of a player’s maiden season, as was the case with Darwin Nunez at Liverpool.

Arteta and Edu have once again been vindicated. Those who loudly doubted Havertz have likely gone very quiet in recent weeks.