JAKARTA Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended his team Kai Havertz, who has yet to score for the London team earlier this season.
The German international again failed to break into the opponent's goal when the Gunners won 3-1 over Manchester United in the fourth week of the English Premier League at the Emirates Stadium, Sunday (3/9) night.
However, Arteta is not worried about Havertz's unsatisfactory performance. He said the player still needed time to adjust.
Arteta even made an analogy that Havertz needed to be patient, persistent, and have a unanimous determination like the one he had when he started dating his wife, Lorena Bernal.
"I said to him yesterday, everything was difficult at first," Arteta said as quoted by The Sun.
"When I met my wife it was initially difficult to beat her and I had to try and keep sending messages," he added.
In the match against MU, three goals for Meriam London were each scored by Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, and Gabriel Jesus. Meanwhile, Havertz missed a golden opportunity to score.
The opportunity came at the beginning of the match when the ball fell into his feet in the penalty box with a distance of just ten meters. Unfortunately, his shot did not hit the ball.
Supporters were annoyed by some calling him useless players. Others are worried that he will damage Arteta's reputation if he continues to play.
Arteta said he believed Havertz's appearance would change over time.
"In the end, he [my wife] said yes. He wanted to be together and it was beautiful. If that was the answer yes on the first day, it wasn't very good. I think the audience was very happy with him today," he said.
The match against MU is Havertz's fourth consecutive appearance with Arsenal in the English Premier League since being brought in from Chelsea at a cost of 65 million.
Victory over MU makes Meriam London sit fifth in the standings. They collect 10 points or two points adrift of Manchester City in the top.
KET. PHOTO: Kai Havertz in a performance with Arsenal/INSTAGRAM
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