"So frustrating to watch", "Needs to retire" - Arsenal fans believe star player is a liability and call for Mikel Arteta to bench him

Arsenal fans slammed Kai Havertz on X after the 24-year-old had a poor outing during the Gunners' 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest at the Emirates today (August 12).

The north London outfit kicked off their 2023-24 Premier League campaign against Steve Cooper's men. The former had a dominant start to the game and were rewarded in the 26th minute. Gabriel Martinelli produced a wonderful piece of skill on the edge of the box to set up Eddie Nketiah, who blasted the ball past a helpless Matt Turner.

Bukayo Saka doubled Arsenal's advantage six minutes later, brilliantly curling the ball into the top left corner from distance. The Gunners dominated the game but conceded in the 87th-minute courtesy of a stellar counter-attack which was finished by Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi.

While Arsenal looked impressive for large periods of the game, one player who struggled to make an impact was Kai Havertz. The £65 million summer signing was given a chance to shine as a midfielder alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

However, the Germany international failed to register any shots or crosses during the game. He also lost possession 10 times, made zero successful dribbles, made just one tackle, and won just three out of his seven aerial duels.

Arsenal fans were not impressed at all. Here were some of their reactions on X (formerly Twitter):

"Havertz is the biggest liability. Why did Arsenal sign him?"

"Havertz sucks so bad"

"Want havertz to work so bad but he genuinely doesn’t have any intensity it’s so frustrating to watch."

Other fans chimed in too:

"Havertz is so bad."

"Havertz is so bad. He needs to retire."

Another fan believed Leandro Trossard deserves to start ahead of Havertz:

"Trossard deserves to be starting every game. Bench Havertz."

While others believe he should be benched regardless:

"Let havertz stay at the bench please."

"Havertz should be on bench the whole season."

"And please drop havertz! He should be starting from the bench! Man played the full 90. Wonder what arteta sees in him!"

Havertz was deployed as a forward during the Gunners' win against Manchester City in the Community Shield final on August 6. But he struggled there as well, missing two big chances in the first half. Only time will tell if his struggles at Chelsea transition over in his game under Mikel Arteta this season or not.

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Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest: Exploring the stats from Premier League clash

Arsenal kicked off their 2023-24 Premier League season in style, picking up an important 2-1 again over Nottingham Forest. Let's take a look at the stats to see how both teams performed.

Mikel Arteta and Co. dominated possession throughout the game. They had an astounding 84% of the ball in the first half, and 79% overall, compared to Forest's 21%. This was clearly visible in the number of passes both sides made. The Gunners completed 763 (with an accuracy of 90%), in contrast to the opposition's 196 (68% pass accuracy).

Arsenal also had 15 shots in total (with seven being on target), whereas Nottingham Forest had six (with two being on target). The former were unfortunate to not score more than two goals during the game.