'He doesn't dare to do anything!' - Mikel Arteta urged to drop 'scared' Kai Havertz as Emmanuel Petit accuses Arsenal's £65m man of 'hiding' against Man Utd

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been urged to drop new signing Kai Havertz by Emmanuel Petit, who believes the German is lacking confidence.

Former Arsenal midfielder Petit believes Arteta should bench new signing Havertz following his display in Sunday's 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester United. Petit says he felt sorry for Havertz when watching him against the Red Devils and believes a lack of confidence is making him afraid to play his best football.

I felt pity for him on Sunday…I still believe he has great qualities. We haven’t seen this since he came to England and he’s struggling. But Sunday, he was hiding everywhere, the former Arsenal star told Compare.bet.

If I was Arteta, I would put Havertz on the bench. Not as a punishment - that’s very important. Not as a punishment. But I would put him on the bench just to step back a little bit. He doesn’t have the confidence to bring what Arteta wants into the team... He’s scared. He’s scared of attempting things. He doesn’t dare to do anything on the pitch at the moment.

Havertz has yet to manage a goal or an assist for Arsenal since the club splashed out £65m (€75m/$81m) to bring him in from Chelsea, and the Gunners will clearly be expecting more from the Germany international. Arteta has backed Havertz, amid criticism from a section of supporters, and has also revealed how he's tried to motivate his new arrival. Havertz will be hoping he can make an impact when the Gunners return to action against Everton after the international break.

The summer signing is now with the Germany squad for friendlies against Japan and France.