Mikel Arteta says "time will tell" when it comes to Kai Havertz's best position after the German international made his highly-anticipated Arsenal debut.
Havertz, who joined the Gunners from Chelsea last month for a reported £65 million, was introduced as a second-half substitute in Thursday night's 1-1 draw against German second division side Nurnberg.
After being used a central striker for most of last season, the 24-year-old was back in midfield for large spells at the Max Morlock Stadium, and could be seen drifting into wide areas on numerous occasions.
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But despite being deployed in his expected midfield role against Nurnberg, manager Mikel Arteta made some interesting comments after the full-time whistle as the Gunners could only record a 1-1 draw.
When asked where he sees Havertz playing in the future, Arteta said: “We will see. We have to see how he adapts and obviously get to know each other and build relationships.
"Football is about that and time will tell where he fits in best.”
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Here's how social media reacted to the comments.
One fan said: "You’ve had all the time in the world Mikel. What this is actually about is making sure that he’s successful. We can’t afford experiments if we’re to bridge that gap with City."
A second wrote: "That’s scary for me signing a player where at this moment in time doesn’t know where he is playing a guessing game, a massive risk and we could be wasting £65m."
A third commented: "Glad to hear this. No reason to pigeon hole him into a specific role until you know where exactly he fits in best. It's a process."
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A fourth said: "I have faith in Mikel but he’s normally very assured of things in an interview. To have paid £65m for a player to “see how he adapts” to “see where he fits best”. I’m VERY unsure about this singing. I really am."
A fifth added: "Arteta with the mind games."
Havertz, meanwhile, has opened up about his start to life at Arsenal.
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Speaking to Arsenal's media channel after the friendly, the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker admitted it will take time to get used to their style of play.
"I'm very happy. For me it's a very big club and to play here is of course a dream and I'm happy to be part of this group," he said.
"I've been here for four days and I feel very welcome and I'm happy to be with the boys.
"It's a young group and when I watched them last year from the outside it was fun to watch them, and I felt the energy behind the club. It's great to be here and hopefully we're going to have a good time and achieve a lot of things.
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From the outside it always looked like a big family and I always felt the energy whenever I played against them.
Havertz added: "I've been here for a couple of days and I already feel part of the group.
"It'll take some days and weeks to get used to the style of play, that is clear, but I'm going to give everything for the club to get the fitness back into my body and hopefully perform in the highest level in the league."
Featured Image Credit: Arsenal/GettyTopics: Mikel Arteta, Kai Havertz, Premier League