Mikel Arteta defended Kai Havertz before Arsenal's trip to Liverpool, reiterating his full trust in the forward after criticism over his recent goalscoring numbers. The comments came after Arsenal's EFL Cup penalty shootout defeat to Fleetwood Town.
Arteta responds to criticism
Speaking ahead of the trip to Liverpool, Arteta rejected suggestions that Havertz's current form is linked to previous physical injuries. He said: "No, there's nothing to do with that. It's true that in terms of the numbers, we have dropped those numbers. But he certainly had the chances as well to play, and that kind of form and that kind of efficiency with the front players, it's very common."
Arteta also said: "Full trust on him and what he's doing."
View on the Fleetwood defeat
Arsenal were beaten by Fleetwood Town in a penalty shootout in the EFL Cup. Addressing the result, Arteta said: "What happened in midweek is probably the beauty of this game... You play that game 100 times, you know the results 99% of the times. But it's football and it happens, something magical and they went through."
Call for perspective
Arteta refused to judge his squad harshly after the cup exit. He said: "So I need to have a perspective on that, and obviously analyse but don't judge the players too hard, especially without understanding the context of it."
Options for Sunday
Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres both featured during Arsenal's penalty shootout defeat to Fleetwood Town. Both remain in contention to lead the line against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
