Kai Havertz insists he is not panicking over his slow start to life as an Arsenal player following his summer transfer from Chelsea.
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Eyebrows were raised when Mikel Arteta opted to spend £65million on a player who had proven to be divisive figure over the course of three turbulent years at Stamford Bridge.
Arteta identified the Germany international as Granit Xhaka’s replacement but the former Bayer Leverkusen star has failed to his the ground running.
Despite having started five games including the Community Shield earlier this month, Havertz is yet to score a goal or register an assist for his new club but the 24-year-old insists he is remaining calm amid a barrage of early criticism.
He said: ‘Sure, things like that keep you busy.
‘But I’ve often had a phase and that you often only see the negative. It’s not the first club where I’m starting over.
‘Of course, you want to be successful as quickly as possible, but I know that there are phases like that. I try to approach it in a relaxed manner.’
While it has taken time for Arsenal fans to warm Havertz, meanwhile, he maintain the unequivocal backing of his new manager who launched a staunch defence of the player after last weekend’s win over Manchester United.
Arteta said:‘I said to him yesterday, things are a little bit hard at the beginning.
‘When I met my wife at the beginning it was hard to conquer her. I had to try, and message, and go and go and when she said “yes I want to be together” then it’s beautiful.
‘I said to him yesterday, things are a little bit hard at the beginning.
‘When I met my wife at the beginning it was hard to conquer her. I had to try, and message, and go and go and when she said “yes I want to be together” then it’s beautiful.
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