What do you think?Was Havertz the piece lacking in the West Ham puzzle?

Was Havertz the piece lacking in the West Ham puzzle?

On Thursday night, we welcomed West Ham to The Emirates and Arsenal was soundly defeated. Every point mattered heading into the second-to-last match of the year, and victory would have put us back atop the standings heading into the final match of the campaign, which was away to Fulham.

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As things progressed, Arsenal found themselves somewhat outmatched as they had 30 shots on goal but were unable to score; in contrast, West Ham had 6 shots on goal but scored 2 goals with them.

I thought Kai Havertz was a huge loss for Mikel Arteta’s system because he was suspended from Thursday night’s game after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season against Liverpool. Havertz had a challenging start to his time at Arsenal and needed some time to get used to things. However, since he was given the opportunity to take a penalty against Bournemouth, he has appeared to be settling in nicely.

His energy would have been invaluable on Thursday night, both in terms of starting and coming off the bench. We could have really used a player like Havertz, but recently he has come on and been the difference in games where Arsenal looked to be struggling. With someone of his height and goal-poaching ability, we appeared to be losing the battle in the box. He could have been a real asset in front of goal.

A year ago, I would not have believed you if you told me that I would be sitting here saying that we missed Kai Havertz and that we would have been a better team with him. However, he has grown to be a vital member of this team, and despite many people doubting his transfer, he appears to have been able to disprove his detractors.

Havertz, in my opinion, is better in the midfield where he can set up plays, connect midfielders with attacks, and work tirelessly to recover the ball when necessary. However, I’ve also noticed that when Havertz scores, it usually comes from center forward positions. With our attacking line currently a little disjointed, he always seems to be in the right place at the right time to simply tap the ball in. He has been a huge help going forward.

Do I believe that we might not have lost if he had been on the team? Perhaps, but at this time there is nothing we can do about it. However, I believe it will highlight his actions at the club and the difference he can make. He appears to be able to make them even when he is unable to locate the net himself.

What are your opinions, Gooners?