Former Arsenal player William Gallas has raised doubts about the club’s decision to spend £65m on Kai Havertz.

There were plenty of eyebrows raised when the Gunners opted to pay a sizeable sum for the Chelsea forward, and Gallas doesn’t believe that the German international is consistent enough to perform at the highest level:

“I don’t think Kai Havertz will show his potential in this Arsenal team. I don’t believe that Havertz was a player that Arsenal needed to sign this summer.

“For me, even when he was at Chelsea, he was never consistent enough. He scored some important goals for the club, and he played well in flashes. He didn’t put in enough good performances during his Chelsea career in my opinion. When I saw Arsenal were signing him, I didn’t really understand it. I was surprised that they signed him.”

Havertz has Arteta’s backing

Despite Gallas’s criticisms, manager Mikel Arteta is clearly a fan of Havertz, stating that the 23-year-old put in a “superb” performance against Manchester City in the Community Shield at the weekend.

It is fair to say that supporters and pundits were somewhat less effusive about the forward’s contributions, after fluffing his lines with two decent chances during the first half on Sunday.

His ‘best position’ remains a mystery

If we put aside the German’s lack of consistency and poor finishing, there is still a big question about what his best position actually is.

Havertz started the Community Shield as the main striker, but that decision was somewhat forced upon Arteta, who didn’t have Gabriel Jesus to choose from after the Brazilian international picked up a knee injury.

Before his move was made official, it was reported that Havertz could be deployed in a deeper role, as a replacement for Granit Xhaka. He has also been selected as a winger in the past. It will be Arteta’s job to nail down his position as soon as possible.