Key Kai Havertz stat could sway Mikel Arteta’s striker decision at Anfield

Arsenal’s defeat at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night was one of the most embarrassing in the club’s recent history, and Kai Havertz was the worst player on the pitch.

The German had seven chances against the League Two side and didn’t take a single one. He miscued a free header in the first half, saw an effort from six yards skim the bar, and guided Martin Odegaard’s perfect scooped pass into the side netting. He hasn’t scored in nine games now.

With a trip to Liverpool on Sunday, Mikel Arteta has a big decision to make up front. And despite everything, there’s one reason he might stick with Havertz.

Ironically, Kai Havertz’s career as an Arsenal centre-forward effectively started against Liverpool, at the Emirates in February 2024. Since then, he has been Arteta’s go-to man for the biggest games whenever he’s fit.

As pointed out by The Athletic, Arsenal have lost just four of Havertz’s 19 starts as a centre-forward against the rest of the big six, and only one of those defeats came in the Premier League. He also scored the opener in last season’s Champions League final against PSG.

We know he isn’t always the most reliable goalscorer in those games, but he does give Arsenal a focal point, someone to hold the ball up and relieve pressure, and his movement creates space for others. At a ground like Anfield, where Arsenal haven’t won a Premier League game since 2012 and Arteta has never won as a manager, they need him to turn up.

The alternatives haven’t convinced either. Viktor Gyokeres got little change out of Virgil van Dijk at Anfield last season, and he managed just five completed passes at Fleetwood, despite his scrappy equaliser.

Arteta has stuck with Havertz through difficult runs before, and he has started seven of Arsenal’s eight Premier League games this season. It would not be surprising to see him lead the line again on Sunday.

Even so, I’d like to see Arteta try something different. Havertz’s form warrants him being dropped, and Gyokeres hasn’t done enough with his chances to earn the spot either.

Mikel Merino is the obvious alternative. He missed Tuesday’s game through illness rather than injury, and while he hasn’t played up front yet this season, we know he can do it. He has led the line in wins against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Tottenham, and he has a habit of scoring in big games. As we argued yesterday, his physicality and late runs into the box could be exactly what Arsenal need at Anfield.

It would be a bold call, and knowing how much Arteta trusts Havertz, it’s probably an unlikely one.