Kai Havertz has finally found his feet at Arsenal, but it may not bode well for their £27m signing. There can’t be many more enigmatic figures in the Premier League this season
Than Arsenal’s summer signing Kai Havertz.
When Granit Xhaka surprisingly left the Gunners after a career-best season, plenty of questions were asked as to who would be the Swiss midfielder’s replacement.
Would it be Declan Rice playing in a more advanced role? Would Martin Odegaard take up a new position or would Oleksandr Zinchenko even be transitioned back into more of a central role?
Well, the answer was no to all of those queries. Mikel Arteta had a different idea. That was to spend £65m on Havertz, a man who had flattered to deceive in a Chelsea shirt.
Those at Stamford Bridge struggled to identify the German’s best position and truth be told,
His spell in west London was somewhat of a failure,
Even if he had scored the winning goal in a Champions League final.
For a player who promised so much at Leverkusen, it hasn’t truly worked out for him in England, perhaps until now.
Kai Havertz’s recent form in the Arsenal squad
The money spent on the Germany international over the summer was an extortionate amount,
Even if they did then shell out £100m on Rice.
However, this was a player who had only netted 32 goals and registered 15 assists across 139 outings for his previous employers.
It was in stark contrast to his days in Germany, where the now 25-year-old had once netted 20 times in a solitary season for Leverkusen.
Based on that number, you can begin to see why Arteta envisioned Havertz playing in that left-sided number eight role that Xhaka thrived in.
Until last Sunday, his only goal for the club had been from the spot, however. A pitty penalty perhaps, as Odegaard handed him the ball in an away victory over Bournemouth.
However, since the international break, the attacking midfielder has come alive. Reinvigorated by a spell at left-back for Germany – yes you read that right
Julian Nagelsmann looks to have revived Arsenal’s mega-money signing.
