“Arsenal fans are going to love him" - Ian Wright backs new Gunners star to excel at the PL club

Arsenal legend Ian Wright is confident that new signing Kai Havertz can excel at the club in a midfield role.

The Gunners completed Havertz's signing from Chelsea for £65 million. He made his debut in their 1-1 draw against German side Nurnberg in a pre-season friendly. However, the 24-year-old failed to make an impact in his 45 minutes on the pitch.

Despite his debut, Wright, who scored 168 goals in 269 games for the north London side, has backed Havertz to do well for Arsenal. On the Wrighty's House podcast, he said (via Evening Standard):

“I feel very, very confident about that midfield and what that midfield can produce. Especially with Havertz. Havertz in that role, I think we are going to be very surprised in his quality as well."

Wright believes Havertz will perform even better for the Gunners than what he did for Chelsea. He pointed out that the German is more of a midfielder than a striker, the position he played for the Blues.

Wright said:

“Arsenal fans are going to love him, we haven’t seen nothing from him at Chelsea. Yes, he’s scored the winning goal in a Champions League final and stuff like that. But, he’s not a [number] nine, he’s not a false nine."

He added:

"He’s either a ten drifting in like he did for [Bayer] Leverkusen, scoring lots of goals in his first couple of seasons. But I can see him as an eight, arriving with Jesus coming out, leaving those spaces. I cannot help but get excited.”

Havertz has played as a centre-forward 78 times in his club career so far, scoring 29 goals and providing six assists. He has made a combined 161 appearances as an attacking or a central midfielder, registering 34 goals and 30 assists.

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Mikel Arteta opens up about Kai Havertz's performance in Arsenal's friendly against Nurnberg

Arsenal began their pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Nurnberg at the Max-Morlock Stadium in Germany on July 13. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for the visitors before Kanji Okunuki equalized for Nurnberg.

Kai Havertz came on as a second-half substitute, replacing Reiss Nelson. He had 26 touches in the game, won one of his two duels, lost possession seven times, and made two clearances. Havertz didn't create any big chance, make a key pass or complete a cross.

After the game, manager Mikel Arteta was asked about Havertz's performance and if he sees the German fit into his squad. The Spaniard replied (via Evening Standard):

"We will see. We have to see how he adapts and get to know each other and build relationships. Football is about that and time will tell where he sees best."

Arsenal will now travel to the US for their pre-season tour and face MLS All-Stars on July 20 followed by Manchester United on July 22.