How Arteta redeveloped Havertz to become the striker Arsenal need

 

Arsenal's decision to spend £65m to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea last summer certainly raised eyebrows. The German moved from Bayer Leverkusen to the Blues in 2020 to much acclaim. Havertz had thrived in his final two seasons in the Bundesliga and the hope was that he'd be the player to fix Chelsea's issues in front of goal. 

 

However, just as a number of players have done at Stamford Bridge over the years, Havertz struggled. A victim of circumstance, testing surroundings in west London meant supporters never saw the Germany international at his best. Not an out-and-out striker, Havertz was pigeon-holed into a role he wasn't suited for and this impacted his form and confidence. 

 

Yet the Gunners saw enough of Havertz to justify their decision to spend big on the 24-year-old last year. With Granit Xhaka departing the Emirates for title-chasing Leverkusen, the aim was for Havertz to occupy the left midfield spot vacated by the departing Swiss. For all of the latter's shortcomings, his hard work off the ball is a desirable trait for a hard-working Arsenal side. 

 

After all, Havertz made more tackles (34) than he managed shots on target (33) in his final season at Chelsea. The early performances at the Emirates though were... mixed. Some questioned Arsenal's judgement to part ways with such a significant sum of money to lure Havertz from west to north London. The defensive side to his game was clear for all to see but the player himself looked a bit of a square peg in a round hole. 

 

It remained to be seen whether Arteta was wholly convinced either. In the first half of the season, six of Havertz's 19 league appearances were off the bench. On those occasions, Jorginho, Leandro Trossard or Fabio Vieira were used in the midfield, either to occupy Havertz's usual spot or to accomodate fellow summer addition Declan Rice in the left central midfield role of the favoured 4-3-3 setup. 

 

In the New Year, though, Arteta has looked to use Havertz as the lead striker in the current system more frequently. In doing so, the Arsenal boss has perhaps conceded that using him in central midfield was a mistake, but in turn; perhaps now has the ideal frontman to lead the charge. Indeed, Havertz has started Arsenal's last two league matches - wins over Newcastle and Sheffield United - up front, with two of his three best-rated league outings of the season coming in the respective victories, this despite the availability of both Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus.

 

 

Havertz has been directly involved in a goal in each of his last three league outings, scoring three times and providing two assists in that run. While perhaps not signed as a striker, the way in which Arsenal use their frontman means that, in the long-run, Havertz may be viewed as a forward rather than a midfielder. He won't have the pressure to score frequently as was so often the case in a disjointed Chelsea side but rather drift across the frontline in order to open up space in the final third that can be exploited by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. 

 

There's also Havertz's contribution off the ball that cannot over overstated. For an Arsenal side that has won possession in the attacking third the third most times (177) in England's top tier this term, Arteta needs his forwards to work tirelessly to create chances quickly after robbing opponents of the ball. This is a quality to Havertz's games that really stands out. Indeed, he has developed a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'defensive contribution' while only Saka (70.4) is winning possession in the attacking third more frequently than the former Chelsea man (76.9) of all Arsenal players in the Premier League this season. 

 

While he may not be the most prolific forward in the game, seven goals stills ranks second of all Arsenal players. In addition, only William Saliba (0.26) has a better xG per shot than Havertz (0.21) for the Gunners with the latter routinely firing off efforts that have a higher probability of hitting the back of the net compared to his teammates. Whether he can transfer this return to goals remins to be seen but it's a foundation for Havertz to build upon. 

 

Arsenal may yet make a move for another striker in the summer, bringing in a more consistent goal threat in the process, but Havertz's skillset and style of play means he is well suited for the Gunners frontline. With 11 games to play, reverting Havertz back to a forward may well prove a masterstroke by Arteta as they look to pip Liverpool and Manchester City to the title.

How Arteta redeveloped Havertz to become the striker Arsenal need