Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed that the likes of Fabio Vieira and Kai Havertz did not look that interested as Arsenal were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Agbonlahor was speaking on talkSPORT (2/11; 6:14) after the Gunners were beaten 3-1 by West Ham at the London Stadium, with only a late goal from Martin Odegaard making the scoreline seem a little more respectable.
Mikel Arteta made plenty of changes for the tie, with the likes of Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira coming into the team. It seemed to be a big opportunity for both players who have not had the easiest time since moving to the Emirates.
Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira fail to impress in Arsenal defeat
Arsenal fans have been keen to defend Havertz since his move. In fairness, some pundits have definitely seemed to relish watching the Germany international struggle. But it is surely fair to say that Arteta’s gamble has not paid off at all so far.
Fabio Vieira has failed to prove whether he is at the level to play regularly for Arsenal. And after their displays against the Hammers, Gabby Agbonlahor suggested that both men failed to take their chances to impress on Wednesday.
“The problem is that the players that come in that haven’t been playing, the Fabio Vieira’s, the Havertz’s, didn’t look interested,” he told talkSPORT.
“I think someone said to Arteta before the game, he did an interview saying Arsenal players aren’t really interested in this game are they?
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“And he said why not? We haven’t got three World Cup winners in our squad, why shouldn’t we be up for this game?”
Cup exit bad news for many of Gunners’ fringe players
Arsenal’s cup exit is definitely bad news for the likes of Havertz and Vieira. The Gunners only have the Champions League and Premier League to concentrate on. And while Arteta would have loved to have won the Carabao Cup, there is no way that he could legitimately argue that the competition was as much of a priority.
So it presented a chance for the likes of Havertz, Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Aaron Ramsdale to get minutes under their belts.
Havertz, in fairness, has featured in every Premier League game this season. So it is not the end of the world for him. But he does appear to be sliding down the pecking order a little now.
Certainly, the performances of Havertz and Vieira at West Ham are unlikely to do them many favours when Arteta turns to his bench in future games and considers what changes he wishes to make.