Mikel Arteta bizarrely compares Kai Havertz’s Arsenal struggles to the time he first met his wife

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made a strange comparison when describing the struggles of new signing Kai Havertz this season.

Havertz, 24, has struggled since arriving at the Emirates this summer from Chelsea in £65 million deal (as per FOX SPORTS). In four Premier League starts, the German is yet to make a goal contribution.

The German forward's struggles continued on Sunday (September 3) in the 3-1 Premier League win over Manchester United. Havertz had a presentable opportunity to open his Gunners account in the first half but failed to get off a clean shot. Moments later, he lost possession, leading to United opening the scoring through Marcus Rashford.

In the second half, Havertz thought he won a penalty for his team, but the decision was overruled by VAR. He was taken off in the 77th minute.

While speaking to Sky Sports (as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano), Arteta compared Havertz's struggles with that of convincing his own wife when they first met:

“I said to Havertz: things are hard at the beginning. When I met my wife, at the beginning it was hard to conquer her. It was hard, I had to try and message her, and go, and go. And at the end when she says ‘yes, we can be together…’ it’s beautiful”.

Arteta continued:

"If she said yes on the first day then it’s not that great, so it’s good. I think the crowd was really good with him today.’

The Spaniard then explained what Havertz can do to turn around his fortunes:

"Being persistent and determined, I think that was it."

Havertz has logged in 313 minutes of game time for Arsenal so far, playing the full 90 against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

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"He produced a magic moment to us the game" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Declan Rice

Declan Rice has sizzled at Arsenal.

Unlike Kai Havertz, another new signing - Declan Rice - has sizzled for Arsenal. The former West Ham United captain - who arrived at the Gunners this summer for £105 million - opened his account for his new club on Sunday.

With the score at 1-1 entering the sixth minute of injury time, Rice popped up unattended at the corner to slam the ball home. Earlier, he had impressed in midfielded, helping the Gunners keep control in the middle of the park.

A delighted Arteta claimed that Rice's performance was a masterclass on how a holding midfielder ought to dominate the game. He said (as per football.london):

"I think a tremendous performance, when you look at how a holding midfielder needs to dominate. He produced a magic moment to win us the game so really happy with him."

Following the international break, Arsenal return to action at Everton on September 17. Arteta and Co. are fifth in the standings but only two points off leaders Manchester City.