Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confessed that 'time will tell' just how Kai Havertz fits into this side after the German's mixed pre-season debut against Nurnberg on Thursday.
Havertz, a £65m signing from Chelsea, came off the bench to play a midfield role for Arsenal, having spent years as a striker for the Blues, but endured a challenging spell on the pitch - much to the delight of rival fans on social media.
While Arteta was keen to avoid overreacting to one pre-season cameo, he did concede that he will need more time to figure out how to fully maximise Havertz in his lineup.
"We have to see how he adapts and obviously get to know each other and build relationships," Arteta said after the game.
"Football is about that and time will tell where he fits in best."
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Havertz himself made a similar admission, adding: "It’ll take some days and weeks to get used to the style of play, that is clear, but I’m going to give everything for the club to get the fitness back into my body and hopefully perform in the highest level in the league."
The German went on to reflect on his move to Arsenal and why he was so excited to link up with Arteta's squad.
"I’m very happy - for me it’s a very big club and to play here is of course a dream and I’m happy to be part of this group," Havertz explained. "I’ve been here for four days and I feel very welcome and I’m happy to be with the boys.
"It’s a young group and when I watched them last year from the outside it was fun to watch them, and I felt the energy behind the club. It’s great to be here and hopefully we’re going to have a good time and achieve a lot of things.
"From the outside it always looked like a big family and I always felt the energy whenever I played against them. For me, it was always so tough to play against them because you felt the togetherness of the players, and now to be in there I felt very welcome from the first second. I’ve been here for a couple of days and I already feel part of the group."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mikel Arteta unsure of Kai Havertz role after mixed pre-season debut.
