BRIGHTON — Every year there is always one unexpected hero in a Premier League title race. This year could be the year for Kai Havertz.
Havertz scored Arsenal’s second and created their third in their 3-0 win at Brighton on Saturday to send them top of the Premier League table with seven games to go. Yes, Liverpool have a game in-hand, but Arsenal are handling the pressure this season.
The composure of Havertz, and fellow summer signings Declan Rice and David Raya, is a big reason why this title race feels so different this season for Arsenal.
Havertz, 24, has now scored five goals and added four assists in his last seven Premier League games. He’s having his best Premier League season in terms of goal involvements with 14. It’s hardly prolific but it is more about what his presence up top does to unlock all of Arsenal’s other creative talents which has made him so integral.
After the win at Brighton, Havertz put all of the credit on to his teammates as they chase the title: “We must win our matches and see where that brings us. We are ready for the challenge and we are up for it. Every week we play at the limit and maybe we can play better,” Havertz told Sky Sports.
“The attitude and work-rate of the boys is phenomenal and everyone put everything into that game – that is why we are successful right now. The boys at the back, what they are doing is outstanding and everyone is involved in that. We try to get the ball high up the pitch, but how they defend the box is incredible.”
The German international is now a key cog in Mikel Arteta’s carefully assembled machine. Nobody saw that coming a few months ago.
Teammates, Arteta appreciate all of Havertz’s qualities
Pro Soccer Talk asked Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard about Havertz’s season and his brilliant form in recent weeks.
“We saw it straight away the quality he had. It was just about getting it out,” Odegaard explained. “You can really see that now and how much he’s giving to the team. Not just goals and assists but in the play in general. He is giving us so much. A brilliant player.”
That appreciation and delight for Havertz is felt across the Arsenal team and his teammates know he is unselfish and will do whatever it takes to make those around him better.
Havertz is a total team player and that is exactly the type of personality that will thrive in this tight-knit Arsenal squad.
That is why Arteta loves him too.
“He’s certainly having a huge impact on the team,” Arteta said of Havertz. “I think his overall performances have been really good and now his numbers in terms of goal contributions, are really, really high... Obviously, he’s in a different moment. He’s got some fantastic players around him. We have tried to create the right environment for him which I think is very important for any player. We have given him confidence, I think hopefully we’ve given the love that he needs. And after, he has the appreciation from the rest of the players and the staff at the club and now, our supporters for sure.”
How have things turned around for Havertz?
After a slow start to life at Arsenal following his $82 million move from Chelsea last summer the critics were circling and Havertz was out of the Arsenal team.
But injuries to Gabriel Jesus have given Havertz an opportunity to start more often in an attacking role and he’s been a revelation, particularly over the last three months.
Havertz had never really found his best position since he arrived in the Premier League as Arteta used him in midfield during the opening months of this season but he looked short on confidence and was lost in the hustle and bustle of the engine room. During his early days at Bayer Leverkusen he drifted off the left to cause chaos and score goals and create and he looked free.
But he has now found freedom in his perfect role at Arsenal: the false nine.
Brilliant movement, unselfishness key
Yes, he starts centrally, but if you watch the way he drifts around the pitch and pops up on either flank and drops deep, it confuses the heck out of opposition defenders. Do they go with him? By the time defenders make a decision Havertz has usually opened up space for one of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus or Leandro Trossard to make the most of.
“I am enjoying myself and I will try to help the team, I hope to keep on going forward,” Havertz said when asked about his current confidence levels.
His manager agrees that Havertz as a false nine has just naturally become a perfect fit for this Arsenal side.
“A lot of the time players decide where they have to play, and we can have certain ideas, but then you see certain relationships and some things flow,” Arteta explained. “And when it flows, you have to let it go, and I think Kai at the moment is flowing and he’s feeling really comfortable there, the rest of the team is comfortable with him there and things happen naturally.”
Havertz is a quiet hero. He won’t dazzle with incredible speed or skill or score goals from 40 yards out. He won’t scream or shout and speak about how great he is in the media. Havertz is so methodical in everything he does. No energy is wasted. Every movement is for a reason. He is efficient, clever and everything he does has a purpose.
Deploying him centrally was a masterstroke from Arteta and it has created a very unlikely potential hero in Arsenal’s title bid.
