There have been many signings at Arsenal across Mikel Arteta's reign that have provoked immediate criticism.
Why would Arsenal spend £50m on Ben White? Why would they bring in Aaron Ramsdale, a man to taste two relegations in two years? Why opt for Chelsea reject Jorginho? Well, all of them ended up causing supporters to eat humble pie.
White is now one of the most consistent players in the Gunners' squad, handed a new contract recently. Aaron Ramsdale was named in the PFA Team of the Year last season, albeit now finds himself playing second fiddle to David Raya. As for Jorginho, well, he has been nothing short of superb, notably in the big games, winning the Player of the Match award against Liverpool last month.
There is also the curious case of the Italian's former Chelsea teammate, Kai Havertz, perhaps one of the most slated acquisitions of recent years.
Why Arsenal signed Kai Havertz
Signing a player with the profile of the Germany international wasn't necessarily on the minds of fans last summer.
With Granit Xhaka departing, Arsenal needed a line-breaking midfielder who possessed expert vision, a bit of steel and the ability to arrive late in the penalty area.
Xhaka had been put through the wringer during his time at the Emirates Stadium but left a hero, moving to Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.
The Swiss midfielder registered career-best figures from an attacking point of view last term, scoring nine goals and supplying seven assists in all competitions. Very quickly the 31-year-old had moved from ill-disciplined defensive midfield to box-crashing superstar, emerging as one of the best no.8s in the Premier League.
Games
Goals
Assists
Yellow cards
32
2
2
5
38
1
7
10
29
4
2
10
31
1
2
10
31
1
2
7
27
1
2
10
37
7
7
5
How do you replace a player like that? Well, Havertz certainly didn't add up at face value. Perhaps, it still doesn't.
Yet, as Xhaka so famously did, the German is now proving doubters wrong with a string of fine performances in a number of different positions.
Arsenal's Kai Havertz vs Chelsea's Kai Havertz
When Havertz first moved to Chelsea from none other than Bayer Leverkusen, it looked as though the Blues were signing one of Europe's premier attacking midfielders.
In his final campaign in Germany, the 24-year-old scored 18 goals. That had followed a term in which he'd found the net on 20 occasions.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, therefore, that Havertz has been a fine finisher of chances since moving to Arsenal.
What was a shock, however, were his struggles at Stamford Bridge. Fielded as a make-shift centre-forward and in an attacking midfield role at Chelsea, it felt as though those in the dugout found it difficult to identify his best position. A scorer of nine goals last season, it's not the worst tally in the world but he has now finally found himself at Arsenal.
This time around, Havertz has nine goals again but he looks in far better form than we've ever seen in England before. In 2024, the 6 foot 4 talent has been nothing short of exceptional.
He is now one of the most in-form players in the division, scoring four goals and tallying up two assists in his last four domestic matches.
What's been the difference? Well, a bit of faith in his abilities. Arteta has given him the freedom to play how he wants to, operating as a false 9 which gets the best out of his target man-like qualities, as well as his creative ability slightly deeper. The underlying numbers tell you everything.
Goals
0.40
0.25
Assists
0.15
0.04
Expected goals (xG)
0.39
0.41
Progressive carries
1.92
2.07
Progressive passes
4.09
3.12
Key passes
1.41
1.33
Passes into final 3rd
2.53
1.72
Shot-creating actions
3.28
2.21
Goal-creating actions
0.71
0.14
Tackles
1.26
1.19
What particularly stands out from 2024's version of Havertz to his final campaign at Chelsea are his attacking numbers. He's registering far more goals per 90 minutes on average and making more progressive passes by a considerable distance.
The biggest difference happens to be his goal-creating actions which have improved by a staggering 407% from last season. What does this metric mean? Well, it counts attacking actions, such as a pass, take-on or foul that lead directly to a goal being scored. In essence, it's an impressive statistic to improve upon.
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Signed for an eye-watering sum of £65m and handed a £280k-per-week deal, it initially looked like a rather big waste of money. However, he's now proving to be worth every penny. Havertz has swiftly become pivotal to Arsenal, so much so that he's now their number one option at the top end of the pitch.