Arsenal eased into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night to set up a mouth-watering London derby against West Ham, and if he stays free of injury Declan Rice will surely get a heroes welcome upon his first return to the London Stadium as an opposition player.
A slightly disappointing 2-2 draw at the weekend against north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, notwithstanding, things are going well for the Gunners and Mikel Arteta.
Still unbeaten so far in the 2023/24 Premier League season, just four points separate Arsenal from table-topping Man City, whom they host in just over a week’s time.
One player that hasn’t really scaled the heights for his new team so far is Kai Havertz. Whereas Rice has hit the ground running since his switch from east London, Havertz is still feeling his way into the team and his rightful place within it.
That’s perhaps only to be expected given how awful his time at Chelsea was and the associated confidence issues that’s likely to bring.
Arteta and the club are perfectly happy with their man too.
‘The message coming from the club and the coaching staff, those close to Mikel Arteta and those close to the board, is that they will protect Kai Havertz,’ CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano wrote in his exclusive Daily Briefing column.
‘They paid big money because they believe that he’s an important player with skill and good potential to show in the future… no drama, no panic and they are prepared to fight together.’
That’s precisely the sort of backing that a player like Havertz needs at the present moment, and a continued ‘softly, softly’ approach will hopefully see the German soon turn a corner.