According to TA, English teenager Haven, who transferred from Arsenal to Manchester United in February 2025, played as a forward position before the age of 11, and only changed to play as a central defender under the guidance of Arsenal's youth coach and former German international Mertsacker.
Haven said: "I changed to the defensive position when I was about 15, so it was relatively late. Then I started playing center back at the age of 16. I was still a newcomer at the time. Before playing center back, I played left back. In fact, I played many positions. The coaches thought I was more suitable to play left back, and it turned out that I played well."
Arsenal's youth training coach Mertesak once won the World Cup as the German central defender. But Haven's mother, the player's agent, Lisa, admitted that when she heard that her son's position had changed, it would take a little persuasion to adapt.
Lisa recalled: "Murtsack said, 'He's not a midfielder, nor a winger, he's a defender.' I said, 'No, he's the No. 6, he plays B2B.' Later I saw Haven play as a left center back, and I thought: OK, you know. I think Mertsack can always discover potential in Haven that others can't see."
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