Back in the early stages of Kai Havertz’s relationship with Arsenal — a courtship marked by awkwardness and uncertainty — it was impossible to imagine the love-in that greeted his super-confident goals this week against Chelsea, their London rivals and his previous club.
In the North Bank at the Emirates Stadium they were dancing in the aisles, crooning their version of Shakira, while the German shook his fists at all that happiness. It brought to mind the old Dennis Bergkamp line about connecting with your place, your people, your ideology: “You found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong.“
Few observers, no matter how optimistic or how partisan, saw this coming earlier in the season.
Perhaps we will never know whether this is exactly what Mikel Arteta envisaged when he chose this unusual player as one of his key purchases last summer.
The Havertz Arsenal are enjoying now is a very different performer to the player who crossed the capital last June. He is also doing a lot of his best work in a position that was apparently not the main thrust of discussion when the transfer was initially explored. Arsenal’s official communication when they signed Havertz projected him as a midfielder. Now he just makes much more sense as an attacking fulcrum.
He seemed a curious choice to replace departed midfielder Granit Xhaka. That was clear in the early matches, when Havertz was so conspicuously tentative. He was like a foal, gingerly testing out his long legs and trying to find his balance and range.
Watching him struggle to impose himself, it was difficult to comprehend what the actual concept was. How was he supposed to fit into the game plan? What was the idea? Why, when Arsenal had a fund of approximately £65million ($81m), did they choose a player who did not automatically bring energy, or conviction, or technical wizardry, or end-product?
Sometimes, when identifying a signing, the role they will play is crystal clear. But increasingly, those who catch Arteta and sporting director Edu’s eye are more about general footballing qualities and human characteristics than a specific positional profile.
Take a look across the team.
Ben White was ostensibly a centre-half but has been remoulded into a marauding right-back. Takehiro Tomiyasu plays anywhere across the defensive line. Jurrien Timber can do that, too. Oleksandr Zinchenko is the signature hybrid. Bukayo Saka used to play anywhere on the left flank and now is established as a right-winger. Declan Rice has the fanbase continually debating whether he should be more of a No 6 or a No 8, when they are not thanking their lucky stars they have him in their No 41 shirt. Gabriel Jesus can usually be found scurrying around far deeper or wider than a traditional striker.
Which brings us back to Havertz. His hallmark of clever movement and ghosting runs, his fondness for a precise pass, his impressive stamina, his nuisance factor in the opposition’s defensive third, his sheer physical presence, it is all coming together. What exactly is he? Is he a target man or an attacking midfielder? Does it really matter? Did it matter massively to Arteta and Edu when they decided this was the horse they wanted to back with serious bucks?
Arteta gives the impression of being a details manager. Every tiny aspect is considered, taught, discussed, practised. Remember the “non-negotiables”? It all sounded very clear and very firm. But perhaps that image underestimates how he is developing flexibility in his own thinking. Havertz had started almost exclusively on the left in midfield until as recently as February. His worth since when leading the forward line has notably elevated his significance to the team.
“A lot of times, the players decide where they have to play,” said Arteta recently, when quizzed about how Havertz has made himself almost indispensable up front over the run-in. “You can have certain ideas, but then you see certain relationships and it flows. When it flows, you have to let it go.
“That’s what is happening with Kai at the moment and he feels really comfortable there. The team is really comfortable with him there and the rest has happened naturally.”
The reinvention of Havertz has been an extraordinary plotline during Arsenal’s season. General perceptions outside the dressing room yelled of a surprising gamble when he signed. He is an unusual player. He arrived with his qualities faded by a difficult time at Chelsea, confidence dented, the false nine who does not score much. Havertz without confidence ambles, delays, slows things down. Havertz with confidence chases with conviction, plays the ball with intent, has the ability to be decisive.
From day one, the staff and his team-mates warmed to him. He is a very popular presence in the dressing room — a hard worker on the pitch who is laid back off it, an easy-going, kind person. Notably, his finishing skills in training are exceptional.
Translating all his best traits onto the pitch with the scrutiny and spotlight that accompanied his arrival has taken time, and an open mind.
Those early fixtures were uncomfortable, with uncertainty about his position, contribution and efficacy. A key turning point occurred at the end of September, when he was the recipient of what was described as a “pity penalty” at Bournemouth: ‘Poor Kai. Give him a goal. Help him to feel better.’
With Arsenal well on top, two goals up midway through the second half, Saka had the ball as if to prepare to shoot from 12 yards. Captain Martin Odegaard came over, covered his mouth with his hands and whispered his request. Saka presented the ball to Havertz. He bounced it, placed it down, adjusted his socks, took a few steps back, breathed, ran on the spot, stuttered his run-up and guided in his first goal. His happy team-mates slapped him on the head. His new fans serenaded him for the first time with the song that puts a beautifully ironic spin on criticism of his eye-opening transfer fee.
Now up and running, the next forward push came with his role in late goals at Brentford and Luton Town in November and December, and another important strike to seal three points against Brighton & Hove Albion a week before Christmas. Then came the claim he has staked to start as Arsenal’s front man. Since moving up top, he has seven goals and four assists from 10 Premier League games.
Is Havertz Arsenal’s dream centre-forward? Might he still end up in some fusion role coming from midfield? These are questions for another day, another season even. Arsenal are reconsidering their options up front for next season because of Havertz’s impact recently. A new striker might well depend upon sales, with the roles of Jesus and Eddie Nketiah less secure.
For now, Havertz has played 75 per cent of all available Premier League minutes this season. Goal involvements are up to 16 now from 26 Arsenal starts — not exceptional for a striker but perfectly respectable for the midfielder he normally was until the past few months.
What’s more, he has become an integral part of the Arsenal team that Arteta is striving to improve. Havertz is happy. He has rediscovered his mojo.
In June, when he jumped at the chance to join this particular manager and team, one of his observations in his maiden interview — filmed before he even got anywhere near London Colney — was that Arsenal was the kind of place, with the kind of people, he wanted to be around. “You can just see the family mentality the team has on the pitch and I guess they have that off the pitch,” he suggested.
Now he has lived it first-hand. He is absolutely a part of it. He has resurged.
This Arteta gamble looks like a good one.
(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
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