Mikel Arteta should have substituted £280k-a-week Arsenal man much sooner vs Lens

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been told that he should have substituted Kai Havertz sooner against Lens on Tuesday.

Pundit Adrian Clarke was speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast after Arsenal’s first defeat of the season.

It was an evening to forget for Arsenal as they went on their travels in the Champions League for the first time in years.

After taking the lead through Gabriel Jesus, two fantastic goals from Lens took advantage of some sloppy defending from Mikel Arteta’s side.

David Raya gave the ball away for the host’s first goal before Oleksandr Zinchenko was outpaced on the left for Elye Wahi’s winner.

There were some questionable performances across the team on Tuesday, but one player who struggled to justify his selection was Kai Havertz.

The £280,000-a-week midfielder failed to make any real impact on the game, creating just one chance for his teammates and having a single shot on target.

Granted, if Leandro Trossard finishes the opportunity created by Havertz it’s a different conversation.

But while he still waits for his first Arsenal assist, question marks will remain over whether he should be playing such a prominent role in the team.

Arteta should have substituted Havertz earlier vs. Lens

Speaking about Tuesday’s defeat, Clarke said: “I felt that the second half did drift by a little bit prior to their goal.

“Kai Havertz had no influence on the game so yeah I would have probably made that change a little bit sooner.

“I didn’t think [Leandro] Trossard had his game either. I know he had a good chance when he chopped it back in, but those two players were not at all is the phrase I’d use for their performance and maybe that could have been recognised sooner.”

Much of the criticism of Havertz up to this point does feel harsh given how quickly he’s been expected to adapt to a new club, a change in system and being deployed in a new role.

However, he always going to be compared to how quickly Declan Rice has adapted to life at Arsenal and the England international already looks like he’s been playing in the side for years.

Arteta is giving Havertz every opportunity to succeed right now but he reached the point where he had to bring him off against Lens.

With Bukayo Saka unlikely to be fit on Sunday, Arteta is going to have to tweak his tactics.

Whether that means Havertz continues to play as an eight, moves to a more advanced role or drops out of the team altogether is yet to be seen.