Mikel Arteta could start ‘unbelievable’ Arsenal player in first pre-season friendly on Thursday

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could hand new signing Kai Havertz his first start for the club in a pre-season friendly against Nurnberg on Thursday.

A report from the Daily Mail has shared more details about the Spaniard’s plans for his latest signing.

Arsenal fans can start to get excited about seeing their first new signing in action.

Kai Havertz will have plenty of prove when he dons an Arsenal shirt for the first time.

He was signed for a hefty £65m fee off the back of a mixed spell at Chelsea.

There’s an argument that he was played out of position for much of his time at Stamford Bridge.

Arteta clearly sees something in Havertz and now wants to hand him his first start this week against Nurnberg.

He’s already training with his new teammates and the best way to adapt to Arteta’s tactics and set-up is to play.

It will be really interesting to see what position he’s played in on Thursday.

Arteta set to start Havertz on Thursday

The report from the Daily Mail suggests Havertz is hoping to make his first appearance this week during Arsenal’s short trip to Germany.

He’s expected to play in Granit Xhaka’s role after he moved to Bayer Leverkusen.

It’s not a role he was used in very often at Chelsea, who regularly used him as a centre-forward given their lack of options in that role.

Arsenal have plenty of players already in attacking areas and therefore have the flexibility to play Havertz in his ideal position.

The ‘unbelievable’ playmaker has a skillset that should suit playing in a slightly deeper role.

He’s very good at starting the press from the front, although is unlikely to be the strongest tackler.

Havertz is also fantastic in the air and could be a real threat arriving late into the box and getting on the end of crosses from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

At Leverkusen, he also recorded plenty of assists and will have the opportunity to play as more of a playmaker if deployed in a deeper role.

Arteta handing Havertz a start on Thursday would show he’s keen to get him into the starting line-up as quickly as possible.

He will be under pressure to justify the hefty price tag now attached to him, something that has weighed on Arsenal players in the past after big moves.