"Hiding from the ball in a friendly", "Flopped on arrival" - Fans slam Arsenal star for 'horrible' performance in 1-1 draw against Nurnberg

Fans slammed Kai Havertz online for his performance as Arsenal managed a 1-1 draw against Nurnberg in their pre-season friendly on July 13. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for the Gunners in the seventh minute before Kanji Okunuki restored parity in the 62nd minute.

Havertz, however, caught strays for his display against Nurnberg. The German completed a move from Chelsea for £65 million during the summer transfer window. Given his achievements for the Blues and his technical acumen, fans expect Havertz to rejuvenate his career in north London.

However, the start of his life at the club was not as expected. Havertz came on as a 46th-minute substitute against Reiss Nelson. He took only 26 touches and completed 16 out of his 21 attempted passes.

Havertz had zero shots on target, completed no dribbles, zero crosses, and won only one ground duel. He lost possession of the ball seven times as well. Overall, it was far from an impressive display for the Germany international.

Fans reacted to his performance on Twitter, with one writing:

"Havertz hiding from the ball in a friendly."

Another fan wrote:

"Flopped on arrival."

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions as Kai Havertz had a disappointing outing during Arsenal's 1-1 friendly draw against Nurnberg:

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Pat Nevin backed Kai Havertz to become one of the best players of this generation at Arsenal

Kai Havertz's Chelsea stint left a lot to be desired. He scored 32 goals and provided 15 assists in 139 games since joining the club from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 for £75 million.

Former Chelsea Pat Nevin, however, made a bold claim about Havertz. He thinks the German can become one of the best players of this generation at the Emirates.

Speaking about Havertz's move to the Gunners, Nevin told OLBG (via GOAL):

"Havertz leaving hurts the most. I think Havertz could be one of the greatest players of his generation. He was playing at centre-forward though, and that is not his strongest position. Playing there really took away the strongest parts of his game."

He added:

"Arsenal have sealed an absolute cracker of a deal with Havertz. I’m really confident that Arteta will be able to get the best out of him as well. Arsenal’s team for next season is already looking extremely good. I think replacing Xhaka in midfield as well is a big upgrade.”

While Havertz's first appearance didn't go too well, he remains an extremely talented player.

The German was often used as a striker for Chelsea. However, with a deeper role under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates, Havertz could reignite his career.