The transfer window has only just opened, and with that comes the first strong transfer rumour which Arsenal fans most likely did not see coming, and that is the possibility of Chelsea man Kai Havertz making the switch across London to Arsenal. It’s a potential signing which is leaving many Gunners fans somewhat baffled, but there are many signs to suggest that it’s not as crazy as some may think.
The Gunners buying from their West London rivals is nothing new in modern times. With William Gallas, Petr Cech, David Luiz, Willian and Jorginho all making the move from blue to red – with certainly mixed results. Jorginho has proved to be a solid signing for a low price and despite occasional self-destruct moments of madness, David Luiz proved a popular figure in the dressing room and played a major part in Arsenal winning the 2020 FA Cup. However Gallas, Willian and Cech all proved to be poor signings and if Havertz does end up signing for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will be hoping he’ll be more of a Jorginho than a Willian.
Links to Arsenal for the German attacker had been quietly circling the internet for a few days, however on June 16th (the day of writing) the ever reliable David Ornstein exclusively revealed that Arsenal are all but set to submit an offer and go all out to try and poach Havertz from Stamford Bridge.
Havertz joined Chelsea from German outfit Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 for a fee potentially rising to upwards of £71 million, a deal which at the time made him The Blues second highest transfer in their history behind the £80 million signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga. And the German’s form in Leverkusen makes it easy to see why Chelsea paid that fee for him, Havertz was the club’s top scorer in the 2019/20 season scoring 18 goals in 45 appearances, as well as 9 assists . This campaign followed an even more successful season the year before, scoring 20 goals in all competitions and was second to Marco Reus in the award for German footballer of the year. This form cemented Havertz as one of the best young talents in Europe and many top clubs across the continent were targeting the young Leverkusen man.
In the summer of 2020, Chelsea won the race for Havertz and despite not having the most amazing of first seasons – scoring 9 and assisting 8 in 45 appearances in all competitions – the German performed when it really mattered most when he scored the winner in Porto to win the Champions League final versus Manchester City. Showing great composure to take the ball past Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to seal a 0-1 win in Portugal. The second season in West London for Havertz improved, with 14 goals in all completions combined with 6 assists to represent an improvement in overall numbers as Chelsea had a decent season finishing 3rd in the Premier League table. However, Chelsea suffered a horrific campaign with two managers getting sacked as the club slumped to a 12th placed finish. This massive drop-off had an effect on Havertz as he failed to hit double figures for goals in all competitions.
So, despite an underwhelming spell in West London, why is Mikel Arteta so keen to sign Havertz for a fee upwards of £60 million? Whilst it may seem puzzling at first, there are a lot of signs to suggest Havertz would make a smart signing for Arsenal. Height is something Arsenal’s team lacks aside from the defence, and Havertz standing at 6”2 would add an extra dynamic to Arsenal going forwards. Also, the German’s ability to play both in midfield and attack makes him a useful asset and his habit of making late runs into the box to score goals will help fill the void left by the departing Granit Xhaka. Havertz is clearly a player who has talent, as his form in Germany showed when he was regarded as one of the best young talents in the world. And having just turned 24, he is a player who has experience at the top level whilst also still having his best years in his prime ahead of him. An argument can also be made for the German to have been misused in most of his Chelsea appearances as he has mostly been used as a striker for The Blues as opposed to his attacking midfield position which saw him rise to the top in Germany. Havertz’s versatility and ability to cover in almost all of the attacking positions would make him a useful player for Arsenal’s squad but only time will tell if Arsenal are willing to match the fee Chelsea will want for a player they invested a lot of money in for initially.