Graeme Souness doesn't think Kai Havertz has improved under Mikel Arteta after Arsenal believed the Gunners boss "could make him a better player".

Mikel Arteta has described Kai Havertz as a genetic "powerhouse" and backed the Germany international to compensate for Arsenal's failure to sign a forward in January.

Mikel Arteta has placed full trust in Kai Havertz to lead Arsenal’s attack for the rest of the season, praising the German’s physical resilience and professionalism.Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty

Arteta has managed to improve a lot of his players at Arsenal, but according to Graeme Souness, writing in his column for The Mail, there’s one player at Arsenal that Arteta has failed with. Indeed, according to Souness, Arteta has failed to make Kai Havertz into a better player after signing him from Chelsea 18 months ago.

Arsenal ’s failure to sign a new forward in the January transfer window means Havertz is their only fit recognised striker, with Gabriel Jesus out for the rest of season due to a knee injury.

Arsenal will be relying on Kai Havertz more than they wanted to. The January transfer window was supposed to bring relief to a Gunners squad stricken by injuries in

“Kai has played a lot of football but his robustness and his availability is unbelievable,” Arteta said. “Genetically, he is a powerhouse. He is so well built. He is a player that anything you ask him, he is happy to do: to run, to be very robust, to make long distances. His body absorbs everything.”

Graeme Souness believes Arsenal are ‘still a couple of top strikers away’ from challenging Premier League leaders Liverpool and says Kai Havertz is ‘not the answer’. Arsenal travelled to Dubai for some warm weather training earlier in the week sitting six points behind Premier League title rivals Liverpool.