Having gone so close last season, Arsenal needed to get their summer recruitment right. Mikel Arteta’s team were top of the Premier League table for 248 days only to fall behind in the last few weeks and finish five points short of Manchester City. It was a campaign of development, but also one tinged by disappointment about what might have been. As Arsenal went into the summer transfer window, Arteta sought to use that disappointment as a building block to make key additions to the squad. A return to the Champions League meant having a greater pull in the market and Arsenal used that to their advantage. David Raya joined from Brentford and has gone on to oust Aaron Ramsdale as first choice between the sticks. Upgrade the goalkeeper? Check. Jurrien Timber has registered just 50 minutes of league action owing to a knee injury, but the young Dutch defender was a fine addition from Ajax. Bolster the defence? Check. The marquee capture was Declan Rice. The former West Ham captain swapped east for north London and has slotted in seamlessly. He was the game-changing addition. Strengthen in midfield? Check. Finally, Arsenal needed a replacement for Granit Xhaka. The Switzerland captain returned to the Bundesliga over the summer and has been instrumental in Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten start to the campaign. He had his doubters during his time in England, but Xhaka was a driving force behind Arsenal’s title charge last season, featuring in 37 games, scoring seven goals and providing a further seven assists. Finding the right link-up man between the midfield and attack was vital, so Arsenal paid £65m to rescue Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Havertz struggled to find the right role during his time at Stamford Bridge. He was often played as a central forward but he is not a striker. The Germany international is better suited to a supporting role, so he seemed a good fit to operate as the left midfielder in Arteta’s favoured 4-3-3 setup. Havertz specialises in finding space between opposition midfield and defences. The 24-year-old times his off-the-ball runs well and his ability to drift into pockets of space in the final third will ultimately benefit Arsenal in the long run. After 11 games, though, there is no denying that Havertz has struggled to fit in. Arsenal surrendered their unbeaten record in the Premier League on Saturday, losing 1-0 at Newcastle. It was not a good afternoon for Arsenal or Havertz. He was lucky not to be sent off for his scything challenge on Sean Longstaff (a tackle so bad that three Newcastle players were booked for complaining to the referee that he should have seen red). And he was also fortunate that his ineffective performance was overshadowed by his manager’s long post-match rant about officials. Havertz had another poor game at St James’ Park. He lost possession three times – which was more than his tally of shots, key passes and dribbles combined (one). The yellow card he was shown for his lunge on Longstaff means he has been booked four times this season but has only had one shot on target – and that was a penalty handed to him by his teammates against relegation candidates Bournemouth. The numbers do not make good reading for Havertz. He has played in all 11 of Arsenal’s league games this season, but has just one goal and one assist to his name. Only 9% of his shots have been on target and 0% of his crosses have found an Arsenal player. He has committed more fouls (14) than he has taken shots (11). And this is while playing for a team that is challenging for the title. It’s not working out for Havertz at Arsenal – so far – and his performances at Chelsea were mixed, but Arteta has a history of improving players. If given time, he will be able to revive the versatile attacker and help him reach the heights of his best days at Bayer Leverkusen. There are green shoots that point to a sign of recovery. Havertz works hard off the ball to pressure opponents and this is reflected in a return of 2.2 tackles per 90 minutes; only two regulars in the Arsenal team – Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bukayo Saka (both 2.6) – are averaging more this season. Havertz needs time and patience to recover his best form. Years of mismanagement, especially in the Todd Boelhy era at Chelsea, have had a negative impact and raised this perception that he is a flop. But Arteta would not have parted with £65m if he did not see a player who can play a role in his favoured 4-3-3 system. Arteta has a history of improving players at Arsenal. Bukayo Saka has grown into one of the best players in the Premier League; Martin Ødegaard spent the majority of his Real Madrid career on loan or on the bench but is now captaining Arsenal at the age of 24; and Gabriel Martinelli, signed as an 18-year-old for £6m, has developed into a Brazil regular who is feared by defences across Europe. Havertz has been around for a long time – he made his Germany debut five years ago – but it is worth remembering he turned 24 this summer. Time is on his side. Havertz has had a very slow start to life in north London, but he has the skillset to thrive for Arsenal and Arteta should be given time to improve his game. With some time and the right coaching, he can pay off that big transfer fee. Premier League team of the week