"Showing signs of a bit of promise" - Michael Owen appears to change opinion on Arsenal star who was 'very poor' at the start of the season

Liverpool legend Michael Owen has given his verdict on Arsenal star Kai Havertz, admitting that the Germany international is showing signs of promise after a poor start to the season.

The Gunners signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea over the summer for a reported transfer fee of £65 million. Mikel Arteta attempted to reinvent the 24-year-old by playing him as a central midfielder, rather than a false nine.

Havertz initially struggled to impress for a couple of months but has turned a new leaf in recent weeks. He was on target yesterday (December 17), scoring in the 87th minute to help Arsenal secure an important 2-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.

Owen was left quite impressed and said (via The Boot Room):

“Havertz has come into a little bit of form if he can continue this and grow into more of a permanent fixture and a confident player then that could, as the old saying goes, be like a new signing. He’s been very, very poor since he’s been at the club, but all of a sudden he’s showing signs of a bit of promise.”

Havertz has now scored five goals and registered one assist in 26 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal this season.

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"Outstanding, incredible" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praises his side after 2-0 win against Brighton

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed his players for an intelligent performance after the Gunners comfortably defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Gabriel Jesus (53') and Kai Havertz (87') were on target to help the hosts secure all three points. Arsenal looked dominant and were in total control of the game. They had 26 shots in total, of which nine were on target, compared to Brighton's six shots with just one being on target.

Arteta was all smiles during the post-match press conference and said (via Arseblog News):

“Outstanding, incredible. Big compliment to the team and to the players. I think we had an incredible performance against a top team. I think we fully deserved to win the game. I have to praise them because I know how difficult it is and what Brighton do to teams. We didn’t allow that to happen, so I’m super happy.”

He added:

"Absolutely, we had to be patient. But at the same time, we had to be really determined against this team. Maybe [you can] have certain doubts – they start to open you up, they start to frustrate you and dominate with the ball. We didn’t allow that to happen today."

“We showed a lot of maturity and a lot of intelligence. This game against them required [us] to be really intelligent in certain areas. We’ve done that in a really good way.”

Arsenal reclaimed their spot at the top of the Premier League standings with 39 points from 17 games, one point above Liverpool. They next face the Reds in the league at Anfield on Saturday, December 23.