Pundit left seriously unimpressed with one Arsenal player vs Crystal Palace, he forgot he was playing

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Steve Nicol was left seriously unimpressed with Kai Havertz’s display for Arsenal last night, with the pundit admitting he forgot the midfielder was on the pitch.

Arsenal picked up a deserved 1-0 win at Selhurst Park on Monday evening thanks to a Martin Odegaard penalty.

The Gunners dominated for large periods of the game but had to see out the win after Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off in the 67th minute.

Mikel Arteta continued with his new-look midfield three of Declan Rice, Odegaard and Havertz. Rice picked up the Man of the Match award from Sky Sports, while Odegaard netted the winner.

But Steve Nicol was not impressed with Havertz’s display from the middle of the park.

Nicol on Havertz display

Speaking on ESPN FC, Nicol admitted that he forgot Havertz was even on the pitch during the latter stages of last night’s game.

“I said to you, with 10 to 15 minutes to go, I forgot he was playing,” the pundit said. “So, that’s not good.

“I was never convinced it was a good decision and they’ve won their two games, he can go again.

“Winning games means that any sort of criticism of any player – when you win you can discard it pretty easily.”

It feels like Havertz is an easy target for pundits at the moment due to his move to Arsenal raising eyebrows.

But the 24-year-old put in an encouraging display last night and his work-rate off the ball certainly can’t be faulted.

The German international also should’ve registered an assist after playing Gabriel Martinelli through on goal, only for the winger to waste the opportunity.