The reasons why Arteta chooses to start Havertz ahead of Trossard

Havertz should be starting ahead of Trossard!  by Daulat Neupane

Don’t get incensed! But don’t expect a revelation either. Reasons are pretty basic and obvious but who cares for the obvious, right? Well, we should.

It’s crystal clear to me, and no, it’s not Arteta’s arrogance or bias. It’s a managerial thing and any sensible manager would do the same.

Let’s reflect on the Havertz’s spell at Chelsea. He was played out of position, in terrible regimes, and alongside uninspired and confused teammates. And he endured 3 Seasons of such mess & mediocrity. Despite an underwhelming spell, he did stand out among the rest of the bunch. Playing in such an environment at such a young age, players are prone to pick up damaging footballing habits. And habits are a pain to get rid of. You have to nitpick them and voluntarily dispose of them one at a time. And it takes time!

Let’s take a trip down the memory lane and remember his exploits in Bayer Leverkusen. He was a different beast altogether. I don’t think anyone would have minded if he came to Arsenal and not Chelsea in 2020.

The question I hear is, what does Havertz do that is worth 65 mil? Currently, he is not doing much, at least anything flashy to be noticed. It’s simple as that. But I believe that’s more down to instructions from the Gaffer rather than himself. Havertz is a very aggressive player when making runs into the box. He is an attack-minded player. But he is not playing like that under Arteta so far. I believe it’s clear instructions from the Gaffer to focus just on the basics and do the simple things for the time being. Remember his horrible experience at Chelsea? I believe Arteta is detoxifying Havertz from those bad footballing practices with simple tasks and focus on the fundamentals. Well, it’s a kinda old school method of breaking habits really, nothing new. You slow yourself down and focus on fewer things at a time.

And it takes time!

And Havertz is getting plenty of that, doesn’t he? Arteta is giving him all the time, for the time being, because he believes in him. You can’t call it arrogance or bias. It’s simple man management. And he is playing all 90 minutes because he is the one who needs to get his form back and you can’t do it being on the bench.

Now don’t ask me why didn’t Arteta buy someone who was in a red hot form already. I don’t know. Arteta wanted Havertz so he got him. I can only make sense of why would Arteta be so stubborn to let Havertz play all 90 mins. And it’s simple, he needs time. The more time he spends on the pitch, the more he can bring his former self back.

Why not start with Trossard and bring Havertz later then? Reason one, Arteta believes in killing the game in the first half and he wants Havertz to be a part of it. Good way of boosting morale and self-belief, isn’t it?

Reason two, it’s because Trossard is in good form already! Btw have you ever seen Trossard dipping in form? I haven’t. So he is a great solution when it’s urgent and pressing because his impact is immediate. He is always freaking sharp. That’s one way of managing in-form players and letting rusty out-of-form players get valuable play time on the pitch. Arteta sees a long-term future in Havertz, it seems. The fact that he is young, just 24, is another major factor.

So I am with the Gaffer on this one. Now I believe Arteta is the right man for the club, so I don’t bother questioning his choice of players. What do I know of man management anyway? If a world-class player like Declan Rice says he is seeing football in a completely new way under Arteta, despite playing in the top flight football for so many years, it wouldn’t be an insult to us fans to accept we might as well be naive when it comes to football. Would it?

Let’s get behind the team and the gaffer, and if possible, let our players know that they have our support.

Onwards and Upwards!

By Daulat Neupane