Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has condemned the online abuse directed at striker Kai Havertz and his wife, describing it as having “terrible consequences” and calling for it to be “eradicated from the game.”
Havertz faced criticism for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, where he missed a crucial chance to secure victory in normal time and later saw his penalty saved during the shootout, resulting in a 5-3 loss on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
His wife, Sophia, shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media during the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.
Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are collaborating with a specialist data firm to identify those responsible. Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham, Arteta emphasized the need for further action to combat such behavior.
“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.
“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.
“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?
“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.
“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.
“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”
Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.
Gunners ‘worried’ as they await news on Jesus injury
Arsenal fear that Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus has suffered an ACL injury after he was stretchered off in defeat to United.
Arteta said the injury was “not looking good at all” and he was “worried” about the extent of the injury.
“We need to review one more specialist. I don’t want to confirm anything until we have the final report this afternoon,” he said on Tuesday morning.
“It’s the doctor’s job to do that. But we were very worried after the game and we are very worried today.”
The Spaniard also confirmed the club were “actively looking” at the January transfer window following injuries with key forward Bukayo Saka out until March and 17-year-old forward Ethan Nwaneri also sidelined.
“It would be naive not to do that because there is always an opportunity to evolve the team and improve the squad, so yes, we are looking and let’s see what we are able to do,” he added.