As Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-0 in New York on Saturday, MUTV commentator Ben Thornley delivered a scathing assessment of the Gunners’ summer signing Kai Havertz.

Following his £65 million summer transfer from Chelsea, Havertz started in a three-man midfield alongside Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.

However, Mikel Arteta’s men struggled in the first half, with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho giving United a two-goal lead that they would not relinquish.

When the players returned for the second half, Havertz stayed on the pitch but was slammed by Thornley just minutes later.

When asked what he would do if he was in the Arsenal dugout while commentating for MUTV, Thornley replied, ‘Well, I’d have just taken Kai Havertz off ’cause he’s rubbish!’

In Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United on Saturday, Kai Havertz (right) struggled.

MUTV commentator Ben Thornley (left) referred to Havertz as ‘rubbish’ during the game.

Stewart Gardner, his co-commentator, then asked, ‘What have you got against Kai Havertz?’ Thornley insists, “I don’t have anything against him.”

Thornley rose through the ranks of Manchester United in the early 1990s, alongside the club’s “Class of 92,” which included David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville, and others.

However, he only made nine senior appearances for the Red Devils before leaving for good to join Huddersfield in 1998. In 2010, he announced the end of his playing career.Since joining Chelsea in 2020, Havertz has sparked debate.

In his debut season, he scored the game-winning goal as the Blues won the Champions League, but he struggled to find his best form in the following two seasons.

However, Arteta clearly saw something special in Havertz, and Arsenal made a move this summer to lure him away from Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old has had a mixed start to his time at the north London club, and was mocked online after failing to score on any of his 14 shots in the MLS All-Star Skills cross-and-volley challenge earlier this week, becoming the first player in MLS history to do so.

He later scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 5-0 friendly win over an All-Stars XI, with Havertz responding on social media to his critics for his performance in the shooting challenge 24 hours earlier.

However, he put in a poor performance against United, earning Thornley’s harsh criticism.

Thornley’s criticism comes after Havertz failed to score in the MLS All-Star Challenge.

United’s new captain, Bruno Fernandes, led his team to a 2-0 victory at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday night.

The Portuguese midfielder led by example and provided the spark the Red Devils needed, hitting a low effort from outside the penalty area that bobbled over Aaron Ramsdale and into the roof of the net.

Erik ten Hag’s side would respond just seven minutes later, with Jadon Sancho capitalising on a mistake from Gabriel at the back, driving towards the Arsenal goal before hitting a superbly taken shot from a tight angle into the back of the net.

Both managers named strong starting elevens for the game, with Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber making their first appearances for the Gunners.

Havertz also played, but was unable to add to his goal tally, which he established earlier in the week in Arsenal’s 5-0 victory over the MLS All-Stars.