Paul Merson felt sorry for 24-year-old Arsenal player in Carabao Cup loss

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Arsenal legend Paul Merson has admitted he felt “a bit sorry” for Gunners attacker Kai Havertz earlier this week.

The Arsenal summer signing is yet to really get going at the Emirates Stadium following his £65million move from Chelsea.

On Wednesday night, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta played Havertz in midfield once again.

The 24-year-old started on the left of the three-man setup, with Jorginho in the middle and Fabio Vieira on the right.

Havertz began brightly, looking hungry to make his mark, and went close with an early header which the opposition keeper saved.

However, the Germany international faded as the game went on, and looked anonymous in the second half as Arsenal fell to a 3-1 defeat.

Merson, writing on Sportskeeda, seemed sad to see what’s happening with Havertz, both in the game and just in general at Arsenal.

“Kai Havertz started in midfield alongside Jorginho and Fabio Vieira against West Ham,” he wrote.

“And I felt a bit sorry for him, as that’s not his position and he doesn’t really have a fixed role in the team.”

Sad to see Havertz struggling at Arsenal after difficult Chelsea spell

It’s such a shame to see Havertz struggling at present.

At Bayer Leverkusen, he looked like he could become a superstar. However, since coming to the Premier League, things just haven’t worked out for him yet.

Havertz is good at tackling, aerial duels and making off-the-ball runs, so in theory this should make him a decent option in midfield. However, he sometimes struggles on the ball.

Admittedly, few Arsenal players emerged from the loss in East London with much credit, but Havertz hasn’t put that many great displays in either.

Let’s hope things improve and he gets there. Could Arteta consider playing him further up, maybe in attack? Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks.