Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha has said one Arsenal player has proven everyone this season after being branded as a ‘joke’.
The Gunners head into the final three matches of the Premier League season top of the table, with City sitting just one point off Arsenal with a game in hand as the English top-flight braces for a tense end to the campaign.
Having just lost once in the league in 2024, Arsenal have been in sensational form since the turn of the year, with the only other game the Gunners have dropped points in coming away at the Etihad Stadium away to City.
And the upturn in form from one player has been key to Arsenal’s success, despite what was being said earlier in the season.
Kai Havertz praised after being Arsenal ‘joke’ to key player
Speaking on ESPN FC, former City star Onuoha lauded Kai Havertz for proving rival fans and pundits wrong over his move to Arsenal, with the £65m attacking midfielder one of Mikel Arteta’s most in-form players this year.
Onuoha said: “I remember being in Porto where Havertz scored the winner in the Champions League final, so from the start of the season where people said he’s no good, I don’t necessarily believe that.
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“He’s playing week in week out, people said ‘oh he’s this that or the other’, and now they’re walking back their opinions, in fact, they’re trying to imagine they were never said.
“People, commentators, they’re trying to distance themselves from what they said. He was mocked, he was a joke, but now you see his impact in terms of targeting players, finishing, connecting with players. He’s playing really well.”
Arteta has proven everyone wrong again with Havertz success
The signing of Havertz last summer was one of the most contentious Arsenal have made in some time, with supporters split on Arteta’s decision to bring in the 24-year-old from Chelsea.
However, with the end of the season in sight, it’s hard to imagine an Arsenal team without Havertz in it, with the German international proving all the doubters and critics wrong in a big way this campaign.
The former Blue has taken to life in north London with ease and grace, and with Arsenal fans striking a real connection with Havertz, it’s no real surprise that the attacking midfielder has enjoyed his best football yet in England this season with the Gunners.