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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Arsenal told why 'amazing' Kai Havertz will make the grade despite early struggles

Jorginho has backed Kai Havertz to come good at Arsenal.

Havertz has struggled since his £65million summer move from ­Chelsea, managing just one goal and one assist in 13 appearances.

But Jorginho knows Havertz well from their time together at Stamford Bridge and is convinced the German will start firing.

Havertz is pushing to start when ­Arsenal play Sevilla in Spain on Tuesday night and Jorginho said: “I think Kai has so much potential.

“I have tried to stay close to him, because to be honest he is a great guy and an amazing ­footballer. He has just arrived at the club. There are so many new things for him to adapt to and learn.

Kai Havertz has yet to impress since swapping Chelsea for Arsenal in a deal worth £65m (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“Of course, he is going to show so much, but I think he is doing well. I’m sure he is hungry for much more and I’m sure he will do it.”

Havertz has been on the bench for Arsenal’s past two Premier League games but Arteta values his experience in the Champions League, having scored the winning goal for ­Chelsea in the 2021 final.

The Gunners manager said: “That’s certainly one of the reasons [why we signed Havertz], plus his quality and the number of things he has already done in his career at his age.

“And then [we wanted] to improve the starting XI as well because he has tremendous quality, and that is going to help us to be better.”

Arsenal are second in Group B after losing away at Lens last time out and they need a ­positive result on Tuesday to get their ­European campaign back on track.

Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is back in the squad after missing Saturday’s draw at Chelsea following the birth of his first child, though David Raya is expected to continue in goal.

Ramsdale has lost his No1 spot to Raya, who has come under scrutiny for some shaky displays in recent weeks.

Raya was lobbed by Mykhailo Mudryk at Chelsea, while he almost gifted the Blues another goal with a loose pass when trying to play out from the back.

Arteta insists Raya is not struggling with the increased spotlight on his position. He said: “I haven’t seen that. If I am fair, I haven’t seen that at all.

“That’s the pressure of playing in big clubs where you have to win and you have to be at your best, and you have someone next to you who is pushing you every single day.

“If we go player, by player, position by position, you will tell me what’s happening at left-back, what happens with the holding midfielder.

“The fact that you have other options as well is going to make those talks more frequent.”

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