It took a while to establish what position Kai Havertz was best suited to but, now established as a striker at Arsenal, he is flourishing.
The German international scored his fifth goal in nine games on Tuesday to help the Gunners beat Paris St-Germain 2-0 in the Champions League.
After being linked with moves for strikers Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen in the summer, Havertz is showing he could provide the firepower Arsenal need this season to fight for trophies both at home and in Europe.
“He has been unbelievable,” enthused Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after the PSG win.
“His football brain, the way he understands space, timing, the way he brings people together and his work ethic is incredible.
“Every time he is around the box he is a real threat and he is one of the main players at the moment.”
‘A very talented player, but his position wasn’t clear’
Havertz may be flourishing in front of goal now, but his finishing is a world away from when he first arrived in England to sign for Chelsea in 2020.
Signed by then Blues boss Frank Lampard, he arrived as an attacking midfielder but during his time at Stamford Bridge he also played as a false nine and as a centre-forward as they tried to establish his best position.
“I think when he came to Chelsea it wasn’t quite clear,” Lampard said on Amazon Prime.
“He was a very talented player, his position wasn’t quite clear.
“He’d been a number eight more of a midfield player, he’d been a number nine and we never got to the end of his story at the Chelsea. What was his best position?”
In his three years at Chelsea he never scored more than eight Premier League goals in a season.
Havertz did score the winner in the Champions League final against Manchester City in 2021, but he also missed some pretty big chances throughout his time at the club and when Arsenal paid £65m to sign him last summer, it raised a few eyebrows.
Initially, his struggles in front of goal continued and it took him 10 games to score his first goal for the club.
But Arteta’s faith in Havertz as a striker eventually paid off and he finished last term with a respectable 13 Premier League goals.
Against PSG, he displayed all the facets to his game likely picked up from having played a number of positions before finally setting into the striker role.
His touch map showed him dropping deep to help start attacks, drifting wide and in the box he showed just how clinical he can be by scoring from one of just five touches he had in the area.
“He plays that hybrid role where he is in midfield and then he is arriving [in the box],” Lampard added.
“He is really getting to grips with that competitive edge which gives him another layer.
“There is a natural talent and he has always had it.”
Havertz put Arsenal ahead with a header after 20 minutes when he beat PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a cross to head home
“He looks like he is enjoying it more,” former England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer said on Amazon Prime.
“He doesn’t mind the battle, he doesn’t mind dropping into the hole. The most important part, he got his goal, he was really brave and got his reward for going in there.”
Havertz’s attacking statistics are now some of the best among forwards in the Premier League, with only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer boasting a better expected goals ratio.
“His quality is to know where to be at the right time,” former Netherlands, Real Madrid and AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf said on Amazon Prime. “That comes from even the big number nines I played with.”
Havertz is no Haaland, but what striker is?
But while Manchester City possess one of the best centre forwards in the world, Arteta is now more than happy with the player that leads his line.
“He is so powerful, but as well he is so intelligent the way he occupies the spaces, the way he glides everything together,” he added.
“His work ethic and now he is around the box and you have the feeling that he is going to score a goal.”