Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has launched a passionate defense of his summer signing Kai Havertz.

Arteta has splashed huge money on the German, securing him from Chelsea this summer.

Despite not playing a competitive game for the club as yet, Havertz is already someone Arteta feels the need to defend publicly.

"We're going to have to find the right balance as well, but a year ago Granit [Xhaka] could never play that as an attacking midfielder," Arteta explained to reporters.

"So let's try to get the work done. It's the first time we played with four players inside, and three of them had never played for us. So three out of four, they never played together ever. So, tranquilo! Day-by-day, keep doing the right things, give people opportunity to settle them into the right things and we will be fine."

Then asked if Havertz is physical enough, Arteta became even more defensive and added: "You use a word that is 'physical'. So if I put Granit and Kai and I ask you who is more physical? What would you say?

"Kai is one metre 91, so it depends what you mean physical. Physical is (also) to run, running behind the forward, to tackle. It depends. So we will fit in with the qualities that we have, that's for sure. And the good thing is that we have options as well. When we have a game that is more physical, we can become very physical as well. We have the right options."