Arsenal announced the signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea this evening, for a fee which could reach £65m if all conditions are met.
The German international has had a mixed time at Stamford Bridge, forced to play football for absolute bastards in front of complete wankers.
There has been much discussion about where he might feature for the Gunners, and there was perhaps a hint from manager Mikel Arteta in his comments to the official site.
Welcoming the 24 year old to the club, he said, “Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.
“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”
There has been a lot of speculation that he could fill the role of Granit Xhaka, soon to be confirmed as a Bayer Leverkeusen player, and Arteta talking about Havertz as a midfielder suggests he could be the man earmarked for that position.
Pre-season might well give us a good hint. Let’s see what transpires.
Welcome to the Arsenal Kai.
BBC say Rice deal agreed
I really like the idea of him as a #8, more than a striker. However, it’s not a bad alternative to have up our sleeve having Kai play as a backup option up top, on the wings, and at #10. Versatility is a big plus. If he comes focussed, ready and raring to go, and with a little chip on his shoulder after the debacle over with those blue fucks this will be a great signing!
#CobraKai
I think he’ll be a revelation in an advanced 8 role. We’ll have Ode drifting right and Kai drifting left – as much as I loved Granit Xhaka and he posted impressive numbers last season, he cannot do the things Kai Havertz can – and I’d expect Martinelli’s stats to improve as a result – likewise Jesus’ who tends to drift left. We will essentially have a front 5, and I’d expect all of them to get 15 goals and 15 assists each next season
I like those numbers
I’m not as optimistic. I think 15 goals and 10 assists from each of the front 7 next season (adding Trossard, ESR) to the list.
word!
15 assist each? How insane are you? BPL leader last season was KVB with 16, if we get one to have 15 is already a great accomplishment and you expect that we have FIVE of them? And on top of that you also want 15 goals each LOL
Let the man dream. Could have explained with care as well
Yeah, you are right, I didn’t mean to offend anyone and hope I didn’t lol
I am offended, and because of that I have upped my expectations to 15 goals and 20 assists each 😀
I suppose when I said 15 assists it also includes the ones that don’t actually count as assists – but without that contribution a goal would not have been scored (penalties won, own goals created, crossed that are deflected etc)
15 goals and 15 assists in 63 games is not too much to ask.
Anyway, I know Grand Kai will have a better output than Xhaka, as he’s a more of an offensive player.
Can he tackle? Two attacking midfielders = unbalanced
Does he need to? Tackling has become almost obsolete in modern football.
But to answer your question he averages more tackles per match than Xhaka, 1 compared to 0.9 per match
It will add an element of surprise to how we line up, and against certain opponents, having another mobile, creative player who can run off of, or combine with, a more traditional number 9 (like eddie) might not be a bad thing.
Attacking game will be superb but we should also work on defensive organization so that we are not found out on transitions.
Kai is actually really good off ball and pressing defensively – like really good (>90th percentile in these areas). I think this is why Arteta wants him so bad, add his mobility and ability to rapidly transition defense to attack to a team that was already a strength (ain’t no question he better at pressing and more mobile than Xhaka) and this (along with Rice and a healthy Saliba, with Timber behind him) should level us considerably.
Not great in the duels though.
Still, I think Odegaard will probably drop a little deeper and make runs into the box (a la Ramsey) whilst Havertz will play a little more like Ozil. Rice in the Arteta role and it’s 13-14 all over again.
This is actually a big one. He needs to come committed and get stuck in. This is the big difference between wunderkind kai at Leverkusen vs rich brat kai at Chelsea. Entitlement and effort. IMO the only thing stopping him from being world class is his effort and desire. That is IMO the big swing factor on this signing
dude… we’re going to be on fire next season
Your title has a typo mate
Welcome and good luck to Kai. Now that he is one of us, we wish him success and we are ready to praise and cheer him. I felt we needed a prolific striker first but this is not Kai’s decision. Plus, he will play in midfield. Hope he brings more winning mentality to the dressing room.
“forced to play football for absolute bastards in front of complete wankers.” That’s the kind of honest assessment I come to this site for.
I always thought of Chelsea as absolute Wankers in front of complete bastards with the class of John Terry shagging his best mates baby mama while dropping her off to the abortion clinic, mixed with the intelligence of an Ashley Cole firing a gun at a work experience kid during a talk about responsibility.
As exciting as getting Rice is, Havertz in midfield is the most intriguing subplot of the summer so far. If you asked football fans who would be the best fit for replacing Xhaka this summer, I’m sure many (including myself) would have said Kovacic, Mac Alister, Mount, Maddison or even Rice himself long before Havertz. Yet he very well could be better than all of them in that position. His ceiling is world class and our season may hinge on him achieving that potential.
Arrgh…If we are going to copy the 3-2-4-1 formation that MC employs this season, due to his playing style, I can see Jesus taking over the Gundogan role in that formation. Jesus is a fighter defensively, can carry the ball and has many similar offensive attributes to Gundogan. In many ways, the way he plays for Arsenal this season somewhat already resembles more of a midfielder arriving late in the box, rather than a forward/target man lounging in the opponent penalty box. However, despite what was supposedly being hinted by Arteta, I still struggle to see Havertz in a midfield… Read more »
For sure in an attacking sense he makes those late runs into the left channel, his left foot can help with buildup for Martinelli and his ability to make precise passes after dropping back-receiving ball in tight spaces/under pressure before turning and advancing the play are big advantages. If Rice can dominate the midfield like Partey did in his prime then we are in for a treat against those mid-low blocks, or even as an impact sub to chase a game. What gets me excited is the prospect of rotations between Jesus, Kai and ESR. All three are well rounded… Read more »
Kai and Øde coming into box late to power home a searching cross will be a normal occurrence.
Can be powerful offensively, Zinchenko, Rice and White covering them should they lose the ball.
Can be powerfully offensive, hopefully to his former Chelsea teammates.
Zina has to start better covering for himself first.
Kai,ESR, Rice, Jorginho, Elneny, Odegaard and Vieira. That’s 7 options for the midfield 3. Looks about right. Don’t expect another Midfielder unless maybe Vieira is deemed not ready and loaned.
Lavia looks like a future machine but €50 is alot unless Southampton take a player in the deal .
Gravenberch, Renato Sanchez or Camavingha on loan would be great additions but need the right mentality that Arteta wants.
K Thuram looks a player and we have decent contacts at Rennes but maybe we’d actually have too many left footed midfielders then
Camavinga on loan? Maybe Mbappe too.
Definitely Xhaka’s replacement then, he even has the same number Xhaka had when he first played for the Arsenal 🙂
Where was that picture of Havertz taken? Looks like a man who was liberated by DeNiro (Arsenal) from his savage Vietnamese captors (Chelsea) in The Deer Hunter. How life imitates art…
Interesting how clearly Arteta stated midfield .
I think there’s an advance on last formation incoming .
3-2-4-1 like city is been discussed but a variation of it 4-1-4-1 changing to 3-2-4-1 with Zinch coming into the left 6
___________Rams
____White–Saliba–Gabri
‐————-Rice—–Zinchenko
Saka –Od——Kai——-Marti
‐——-‐———Jesus
Is an option with Jorgi in CDM alongside Rice for away games
Kai is taking the #29 jersey, which Xhaka wore before his favourite #34 became available. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
😀
In addition, Xhaka will be going to play in Leverkusen (Havertz’s club prior to joining Chelsea) next season, if his transfer is confirmed with Rice’s & Havertz’s arrivals. Quite the coincidence!
From the contract dungeon underneath the Emirates, to Kia’s back yard, and now somewhere in the jungle?!
I’m getting really curious to see where Rice’s unveiling will take place…
In a padi field…?
Willkommen Kai. COYG
Fancy buying another player from chelshit?
I say bid $1 for Mudryk
Lukaku in straight swap for Cedric?
Yes, this is the plan. You don’t pay that kind of money for a player who isn’t in your best XI and that is the obvious vacant role in the front 5. The profile is perfect for it. Havertz is among the league leaders in runs made. He thrives on exploiting the types of spaces that Jesus’ movement will create. He’s also among league leaders in short passing volume and accuracy, which means improved ball retention, which means more control in the opposition half. He’s also a tall player who can provide a different dimension in the box and has… Read more »
I think the best position for him is the number 9 and that he will compete with Jesus for the starting role. To me his style of play at 9 fits very well with our squad and even though he wont score 30 goals the team would befenit with him there. But if Arteta thinks otherwise, lets see, he has a lot of qualities, I hope it works out