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Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has urged Julian Nagelsmann not to continue with his experiment of using Arsenal attacker Kai Havertz as a makeshift left-back.
Havertz was surprisingly chosen at left-back in Die Mannschaft's 3-2 defeat to Turkey in a friendly (November 18). The Gunners playmaker was on the scoresheet but also gave away a penalty.
The 24-year-old came in for praise for his performance that comes amid a difficult start to his Arsenal career. He's managed just one goal and one assist in 19 games across competitions since joining from Chelsea in the summer.
Havertz has enjoyed a more prolific run with Germany since making his international debut in 2018. He's posted 14 goals and as many assists in 41 games.
Matthaus alluded to his fine record for his national team when explaining why he doesn't think he should be playing at left-back. He wrote for Sky Germany (via Metro):
‘Havertz brings a lot of quality, but he was not trained in this position, but in the offensive [areas] and mainly centrally. I accept that the national coach wanted to try something out, but I hope it doesn’t happen again – even though Havertz was one of the better players against Turkey."
Matthaus argued that Nagelsmann's decision to play Havertz at left-back is perhaps unfair to players who play in that position:
"This is also a slap in the face to those who have played there recently, even if there were problems on the left side of the defense recently."
Nagelsmann was pleased with Havertz's performance against Turkey, insisting that the Gunners midfielder wanted to play in the role. He said (via the source above):
"Kai said he wanted to do it, wanted to try it. For a first time in an unfamiliar position, he did extremely well and probably was our best player."
It remains to be seen if Nagelsmann will continue his experiment going forward. Germany are next in action tomorrow when they face Austria in a friendly.
Mark Schwarzer is unhappy with Mikel Arteta's treatment of Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
Premier League legend Mark Schwarzer has criticized Mikel Arteta for his handling of Arsenal's goalkeeping situation. Aaron Ramsdale has been displaced by David Raya as the Gunners' new No.1.
Ramsdale's father Nick recently claimed that the England international wasn't informed about the situation but had to accept it. There are question marks over the 25-year-old's future with Euro 2024 next year.
Schwarzer thinks Arteta should have told Ramsdale about his plans and has labeled it as poor management if he hasn't held talks. The former Chelsea goalkeeper said (via TBRFootball):
"I would hope that Arteta had said something to Aaron Ramsdale, but it doesn’t look like he has. And obviously his father’s come out and said he didn’t know anything about it and he hasn’t spoken to him about it, and that’s really poor management."
Ramsdale was a mainstay in Arsenal's starting lineup last season, keeping 15 clean sheets in 41 games across competitions. But, he last played in the Premier League this campaign in early September.
