Mikel Arteta addresses 'physical' concerns over Kai Havertz as Arsenal boss explains the difference between £65m new boy and Granit Xhaka

• Arteta trying a new trio in midfield
• Concerns have been raised with Havertz
• Coach asked for more patience

WHAT HAPPENED? The Spanish tactician set up a new-look midfield during the Gunners' 2-0 friendly defeat to Manchester United, with £65 million ($84m) man Havertz lining up alongside fellow new signing Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. However, the trio struggled to string passes together as United out-battled Arsenal in the middle of the park. They seemed to lack steel in the absence of Granit Xhaka, who joined Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £21 million ($27m) earlier this summer, with Havertz particularly ineffective over the course of the match.

WHAT THEY SAID: However, Arteta is adamant that Havertz can give Arsenal something different, as he told a press conference: "We have to find the right balance but a year ago Granit could never play as an attacking midfielder. It's the first time we played with four players inside and three of them had never played together, ever. So: tranquilo.

"Day by day, keep doing the right things and give people the opportunity to settle in and we will be fine. You use the word 'physical' but if I put Granit and Kai [together] who is more physical? Granit? Yeah? Havertz is 1.91 metres. It depends what physical is. Physical is to run, to run in behind, run forward, to tackle, to defend. He will fit in with the qualities we have for sure and the good thing is that we have options in midfield. When we want a game to become more physical we have the options to be very, very physical so we have the right options."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Gabriel Jesus was also present to face reporters amid Arsenal's ongoing U.S. tour, and admitted that the squad allowed their nerves to get better of them when letting their lead in the Premier League title race slip at the business end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Arteta agreed with Jesus' assessment, adding: "When he talks about that nervousness, insecurity or uncertainty I think that is related to a lot of key moments that happened, especially in the three consecutive draws we had [against Liverpool, West Ham United and Southampton]. That created that little bit of doubt as we then had more urgency to win and it gave City a big platform to build momentum. One thing really affected the other and that had a really important effect on the outcome of the championship."

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WHAT NEXT? Arsenal will be back in action against Barcelona in their next pre-season friendly on Wednesday at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.