Kai Havertz has withdrawn from the Germany squad for their upcoming Nations League friendlies due to a knee injury.
The 25-year-old, who was recently appointed vice-captain of his country, was due to face Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands but has been replaced by Mainz striker Jonathan Burkardt.
At this point, it’s unclear if the injury is serious or simply a minor knock that the Gunners feel shouldn’t be risked when games are coming thick and fast on all fronts.
Kai Havertz fällt für die anstehenden Länderspiele gegen Bosnien und Herzegowina und die Niederlande aufgrund Kniegelenksbeschwerden aus. Für Havertz nominierte Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann Jonathan Burkardt.
Gute Besserung, Kai! 🖤❤️💛
Wir freuen uns auf dich, Jonathan! pic.twitter.com/Odm9vHRVpm— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) October 6, 2024
Arteta was actually asked in his pre-Southampton press conference whether he was tempted to ask his busiest players to drop out of international duty. He was quick to point out that players more often than not want to represent their country.
“First of all the player has to be healthy to go to their national teams but all of them, when I spoke to them, want to be part of that and it’s normal,” said the Spaniard.
“It’s a huge privilege to represent your country. They all want to be involved, they all have their role, they don’t want to lose it and we have to understand that as well.
Havertz has completed 90 minutes in nine of Arsenal’s 10 games this season and also played two full matches for his country in September’s international break.
I8Interlull!
He was such a beast yesterday. A man on a purpose, to make us with the league.
I loved the steely look in his eye when he scored the goal. “I’m putting this right” that look said, and “we’re not there yet.” He didn’t really celebrate, he just calmly high fived a few guys, and jogged back to center to do it again. That’s a champion’s mentality.
lol.
Care to elaborate?
This boy is very important for the team.
I doubt anyone is sat there stressing that he is going to miss our next game. I am certainly not. Get your feet up and make the most of your break, you have earned it
It doesn’t look remotely like Jesus is an ample deputy for Havertz, which is concerning. We’re heavily reliant on Havertz and I would suspect that if Jesus could do….well….anything remotely well right now, then we’d be able to rest Kai.
I remember last October when Havertz supposedly wasn’t good enough and had no end product and people were calling him an expensive mistake.
Now Jesus is struggling and has no confidence, so it’s his turn to be blamed and doubted and dumped on.
Luckily, things can change quickly
I’m all for getting behind a player in bad form but jesus is not the answer. He squanders too many chances and has had plenty of time to prove himself. We will never win the league with jesus up top.
It is almost certain – we will ONLY win the league with Jesus up top – at some times. I hope he does it with aplomb! He works his butt off, just as Arteta requires COYG!
I don’t view those situations as equal though. Havertz hadn’t went 21 games without a goal, for one. He was new to the team, point two. He brought something to our game, point three.
Jesus is offering absolutely nothing. Arteta brought Nwaneri on ahead of him not so long ago. Yesterday was a case of “can you play against a lower level team and find the spark?” And the answer was quite definitive.
How many minutes has Jesus played this season? I’ll tell you: 79 Premier League minutes. Yesterday he played 60 of those. It was his first start not only of this season but also in the 4-2-4 shape we’ve been playing next to Kai. He’s on the way back from injury. He’s not match fit. He’s getting accustomed to new partnerships and a new formation.
Spot on Doc
I think he started the carabao cup game against Bolton….
Yes, he did. He played in the CL too. I reference PL minutes specifically because it’s a different propostion, much more scrutiny, intensity, real meaningful first team minutes. Nobody was on him after Atalanta or Bolton like this even though the performance was similar in those games.
So maybe let’s wait on passing final judgment until he breaks 100 PL minutes??
How many seasons does he get to prove himself?
Jesus was never good enough. Not good enough for 115ers not good enough for us. Never bought he was better than Laca. Laca is a more intelligent player, underrated by blogs and supporters.
Havertz was shit before the January trip to Dubai last season. Mainly because he was being played at left 8, a position he is, to put it mildly, ineffective. The move to 9 obviously worked. Jesus has been a massive disappointment to those who expected some sort of “goal machine” a la haaland. He’s never been that type and never will be. His injury record is also woeful and it’s hard to see him being able to stay fit enough to actually contribute in a meaningful way. If he can, great. But I doubt it. If he flops again this… Read more »
I am forever thankful that we got Zinchenko and Jesus to start the Arteta era. They helped move us out of our years of doldrum. Are they perfect? No. We knew their limitations coming in, but they were very much a part of Arteta’s push to create an environment of enthusiasm and belief again. When we move beyond them, I’d still recall fondly being shocked to see an Arsenal left back in midfield, and to witness Jesus backing up and putting a CB much bigger than him sprawled on the ground.
Not sure why you’re getting down voted for that comment. Everything you said is true. I still don’t think Jesus playing well pulls Kai out of the lineup due to his versatility. As long as they’re able, Kai, Saka, Odegaard and Rice will start every match except maybe the Carabao cup.
Well played
Keep him fresh
Hope we r learning shitty’s dark arts where players are miraculously fit after missing intl breaks!
Alex Ferguson could hold master classes in that particular art, having pioneered the same during his time at Utd.
True that. Pool too use it.
He just wants to play some uno with family and friends- and who can blame him?
Always gotta be careful when it comes to Kniegelenksbeschwerden.
Gesundheit!
I learned a new word today
does this involve crouching over a glass topped coffee table?
Hope we r learning the dark arts from city where players are miraculously fit after missing international break..
I just rewatched the match from yesterday. I finally thought of a comparison of who Kai is becoming. He feels very analogous to what De Bruyne is.
Today I watched a referee refuse to send off Rashford for what was clearly a second yellow for a kick out tackle. They seemingly have no problem giving arsenal players a second yellow.
Yesterday, Alexander Arnold pushed a second ball on the pitch to try and delay a restart and nothing.
The refs are so inconsistent. It’s become a joke.
Glass half full:
Refreshing not to have a refereeing debacle for what feels like the first time this season in yesterdays game.
What’s wrong with you, Edso? The referee was “using his common sense” with Rashford and “trying to keep 11 men on the pitch”. That’s not allowed when you referee Arsenal. If an Arsenal player sneezes the wrong way then he has to go.
BTW: did you notice that useless Chris Kavanagh’s red card for Bruno Fernandes has been annulled by the Premier League? If it was an Arsenal player I bet it would have stood.
Indeed. And every pundit would be saying the arsenal player had it coming, needs to keep his nose clean, letter of the law etc.
He was not subbed off so hopefully just a precaution, or an excuse to keep him out of trouble.
I hope he’s OK, the last thing we need is him to be injured. Hopefully it’s just a knock and this is precautionary. Everyone seems to be presuming this is a con, but I don’t think Arsenal work like that and I don’t see him staying home for no reason.
Didn’t we just have an interlull? Good grief.
Yes, 4 weekends since the last one. And there’s 4 weekends after this one before we have yet another one.