Arsenal FC have their new Patrick Vieira in Declan Rice, but the signing of Kai Havertz isn’t working out
Arsenal haven’t quite come this far this season and yet after a dramatic win over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium, they are unbeaten four games into the season and have only dropped two points.
As the eight minutes of added time began with the score at 1-1, Arsenal underlined their resilience, character and team strength with two late goals from Declan Rice and substitute Gabriel Jesus to keep the pressure on early leaders Manchester City.
The victory was nothing less than Arsenal deserved due to a dominant performance against a struggling United side, and their mental strength was also underlined by Martin Odegaard’s equalizer right after the start and just 35 seconds after Marcus Rashford opened the game proven.
Arsenal obviously have plenty of character and fighting spirit, which seems particularly important as Mikel Arteta’s new-look side continues to coalesce.
Declan Rice delivered his first great performance for Arsenal.
/ Getty ImagesThe additions of Kai Havertz and Rice should take Arsenal’s midfield to a new level after Arteta felt he was out of his depth in games last season – notably against Newcastle, Everton and twice Manchester City.
While this result will certainly go down as an important milestone for Rice, it was another frustrating outing for Havertz.
Rice’s late, very late strike, which sneaked into Andre Onana’s near post after United failed to clear a corner, suggests he can make the difference, as Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira did in their prime did this game so many times.
His first goal for the club since the £105million move from West Ham capped an impressive performance that helped Arsenal win a midfield battle against Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. He can still be more dominant, but a goal in front of a loud home crowd could do wonders.
In contrast, it was another difficult passage for Havertz, who wasted a great early chance and lost the ball in the build-up to United’s goal.
Kai Havertz doesn’t seem to be fit in midfield anyway
/ Action images via ReutersChelsea’s £65million summer signing’s frustrating afternoon was made even worse when he thought he had won a second-half penalty following a foul by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but referee Anthony Taylor overturned his decision To watch the monitor on the sidelines, on the advice of the VAR.
Havertz still looks like a cornerstone at Arsenal and he wasted a great chance to open the scoring when the ball fell into his path just meters from goal, but he confused his lines with a burst of air, demonstrating his lack of confidence .
And it was his free pass, intercepted by Eriksen, that gave Rashford a great release for the United goal – a fierce shot off the inside of the post.
Havertz thought he had made amends when he burst into the penalty area and appeared to be caught, with referee Taylor pointing to the spot, but the decision was overturned and replays suggested the contact was minimal.
It was Havertz’s last significant contribution and he was replaced by Fabio Vieira with 15 minutes remaining.
The Portuguese substitute was positive and set up Jesus with a clever pass to secure the point on the counterattack. The Brazilian stayed cool and finished well.
Arteta will be delighted with a rousing comeback victory, suggesting Arsenal have the courage to challenge City again this season, but the Spaniard could spend the international break thinking about how to get the best out of his midfielders, especially as Thomas Partey is expected to play against a long period on the sidelines.
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-fc-rice-vieira-havertz-arteta-man-utd-b1104524.html Arsenal FC have their new Patrick Vieira in Declan Rice, but the signing of Kai Havertz isn’t working out
