Kai Havertz: The Catalyst for Arsenal’s Title Hopes

He was the hero Arsenal fans didn't know they needed. In relation to Kai Havertz, it's fair to say he has and is still exceeding expectations. Now we expect a lot from Kai Havertz, you know, his consistency we'll get into. But I think every Arsenal fan is still somewhat shocked. Now when we signed Kai Havertz, obviously he was a player down on his luck at Chelsea. Many fans, you know, did not see the angle Mikel Arteta was coming with. I can't say I saw it either. I mean, personally, I was prepared to give the man a chance like I do with all footballers. But in comparison to some of the summer signings that we made, it was a thing where my trust was fully in Mikel Arteta, not necessarily Kai Havertz. And there has to have been a method to the madness in which is fair to say it's worked out. But even I can't claim to sit here and say that I knew he'd become one of personally my favourite players and go to men currently in Arsenal starting 11. To be very honest with you, I genuinely believe in the year of 2024, he has a case to be Arsenal's best player. I'm not saying he is. I'm just saying he simply has a case. You know, when he arrived at the Emirates Stadium last summer as something of an enigma, he was largely used as a striker during his time with Chelsea. The German was adamant at the time that that wasn't his best position. Mikel Arteta, you know, in Kai Havertz initial period at Arsenal clearly thought similar. He tried to make him a Granit Xhaka replacement. It's fair to say while he has still played in midfield from time to time, that experiment, you know, did not work. And Kai Havertz is not a midfielder. I'd love to be proven wrong yet again, but the man's position is as a striker. You would have seen just before the international break, you know, during our 3-1 win over Southampton, he got his full strike of the season, people. He now has four Premier League goals to his name. At his current rate of scoring, he should comfortably beat last season's tally of 13 goals, people, unless there's suspensions or injuries. Yet when you look at his goal return, and he is still scoring goals, I'm sure many an Arsenal fan would still like a striker. That can't be the only way in my opinion to determine whether or not the Arsenal star enjoys a successful campaign or not. Ultimately, strikers will be judged on how many times they score goals. That is the primary task of a forward. We all know in the modern day goals are not enough. And when you look at Mikel Arteta's system, if being a goal scorer was everything, Kai Havertz wouldn't have got an initial opportunity up there. Eddie Nketiah wouldn't have played up there, neither would Gabriel Jesus, because none of them at the time of their introduction up front can claim to be prolific people. We all know in many ways Mikel Arteta's striker is his first defender, typically leading the press with obviously Martin Odegaard when the man's back, people. You know, Kai Havertz is a great player. His approach to open up space for wingers, his link-up plays, development partnership, developing apologies partnership with Bakayo Saka is amazing. And we all know he offers a physical presence up front, whether David Raya is going to go long and we're going to contest the first or second balls. On that and talking about aerial duels, only Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Virgil van Dijk have won more aerial duels than Kai Havertz this season in the Premier League. We know Arsenal are a possession-based side, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're a side that's going to look to dominate games in possession a lot of the time. You look at Manchester City who do that. You look at Spurs who are quite naive in possession people and they dominate possession stats, but don't necessarily win games. Possession as an Arsenal fan is everything to me, but it doesn't correlate with winning games. You look at our average possession, it stands at 49.2% people. At this moment in time in the Premier League, that ranks us ninth. Now, of course we could do better. I want to see everything. I want to see a great defensive side, a great attacking side, dominate all statistics, but the most important statistic is getting three points. When you look at Kai Havertz, he has 14 clearances to his name, more than any other Premier League striker this season. Kai Havertz is just as important to Mikel Arteta's side in the defensive third as he is in the attacking third. So he's someone that contributes in all phases of play. We can't not give this man his flowers. I'm full of praise for Kai Havertz and I think it's deservedly so. I think when you look at Kai Havertz, I think it's a case of you need to judge the individual for what he is. And I actually think that goes for all footballers. He's definitely not the most eye-catching on the ball, but what he is, is a very intelligent footballer. His movement, his understanding with his teammates, his ability to put himself about physically, his ability to drop into midfield, his ability to put in a defensive shift. He plays for the badge and simply put, he gets it. Now, throughout his time at Arsenal, we've seen Thomas Tuchel compare him to Robin Van Persie and Berbatov. Berbatov, the man himself, has actually said he sees himself in Kai Havertz. So I like the way Kai Havertz is moving. He wasn't the hero we thought we needed, but I think he's doing well. He's justified his price tag. In fact, nobody cares about his 65 million price tag. And it's currently a masterstroke for Mikel Arteta. Do I believe Arsenal need another striker? 100%. But that doesn't mean Kai Havertz becomes marginalised. If he keeps doing what he's doing, it doesn't matter what striker you bring in. Kai Havertz is going to hold on to his place and ultimately Kai Havertz has established himself as a vital squad member and one of the first names on the team sheet currently for Arsenal Football Club. I love what I'm seeing from Kai Havertz and I believe many Arsenal fans who look at things with balance would say the same people. So long may it continue Kai Havertz. For me, the biggest thing is, in a positive way, he is a shadow of his former self. Come a long way from getting charity pens against Bournemouth to now being a difference maker. Of course, the Brighton game didn't go in the fashion we liked, but I think he scored a great finish. I really like the context behind when he scored against Southampton. It's a lovely pass from Bakayo Saka, but the fact that Kai Havertz took the game by the balls, fashioned the shot for himself and rifled it past Ramsdale sums up his confidence levels now and his general belief. And I think I have to big up Mikel Arteta, the coaching staff, his fellow teammates for obviously getting him through this. And now Kai Havertz is standing on his own two feet. He's puffing out his chest. And one thing I do like from Kai Havertz is when you look at several of his comments now, you can tell his mentality changes. He's genuinely not happy if he doesn't get a goal in assists. He genuinely wants to get 20 league goals. Whether he can become that kind of striker for Arsenal Football Club remains to be seen. As again stated, I would still like another striker. But I think if you're completely honest with yourselves, Kai Havertz is a quality player for Arsenal Football Club. I think he's become a lot of Arsenal fans, one of the more favoured players and the go-to men and a difference maker. So keep doing what you're doing, Kai Havertz. Long may it continue. Let me know your thoughts. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe.