After three seasons as a Chelsea player, it looks as though German international Kai Havertz will be swapping Stamford Bridge for the Emirates Stadium this summer as he edges closer to becoming an Arsenal player.
Finishing a close second to Manchester City last campaign, Mikel Arteta's side are in the market for improvements this off-season as they look to claim a first league title since 2003/04.
But for a reported transfer package worth around £65million, is the 24-year-old worth the hefty price tag and where will he feature for Arsenal?
The Sporting News takes a look at the data to assess why the Gunners are keen to bring Havertz to the club this summer.
Was Kai Havertz any good at Chelsea?
Signing for a huge fee — thought to be around £62m/$79m — back in September 2020, Chelsea's capture of the talented Kai Havertz from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen stole the headlines.
Regarded as one of the most gifted young footballers in the sport at the time, the London side went all in when acquiring the talented attacking midfielder.
But his three seasons since joining the Blues haven't exactly gone to plan.
There have been bright spots, such as his crucial strike that helped Chelsea win the 2021 Champions League title at the expense of Manchester City in Lisbon but overall, Chelsea fans will have been underwhelmed by his overall performance.
Focusing on this season when he's featured heavily, let's start on the finishing front and work our way through.
Havertz hasn't had the effect at Stamford Bridge that both himself and Chelsea fans would have been hoping for in front of goal. In truth, his finishing has been poor overall and big chances have been squandered multiple times.
During his time with the Blues, the 24-year-old has netted just 32 goals across 139 appearances — a figure not high enough for a top-four side's main forward. It culminated in a campaign last time around where only Leeds United's Patrick Bamford (-5.2) performed worse on xG than him (-5.1) in the Premier League.
But finishing isn't where Havertz excels, nor has it really ever been where he flourishes to full effect.
Back in September 2020 the German international was brought to the club more as an attacking midfielder and given certain limitations for managers since, he's instead been used consistently as an out-and-out striker which most would suggest isn't his best role.
That's highlighted when looking at other parts of his game in particular, especially as a playmaker where he spent most of his time at Leverkusen.
For instance, this campaign in the Premier League only two players who played up front created more chances from open play than Havertz’s 33 and attempted more passes into the area, according to Opta. His passing accuracy under pressure among all strikers (78.1%) also ranked highly, highlighting his ability to create chances in tight situations when needed.
As such, expect Arteta to deploy the German star in a much different way to what Chelsea managers have in recent seasons, but more on that later.
There are other aspects of his game where Havertz excels as referenced through the data.
He is underrated as an aerial threat, something which could help the Gunners return more goals from set pieces, whilst his off-the-ball awareness is second to none. When looking at data points such as runs into the box and distance covered, Havertz always ranks highly across a whole season.
Lastly, what also needs to be remembered when looking back on his time at Stamford Bridge is the fact that very few Chelsea players have really excelled in the prior couple of seasons. It's a club that at the moment, has a long list of stars and fantastic talent across the board, but is lacking an identity given recent managerial changes.
Why are Arsenal signing Havertz?
Given his performances at Chelsea then, why have London rivals Arsenal put a big bid in for the German attacker this summer?
Well, for a start, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta obviously views Havertz as a player who is still yet to fulfil his massive potential.
Looking at other young Arsenal players such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba and even Martin Odegaard — who moved from Real Madrid permanently at a similar age to Havertz — it's clear that as a manager, Arteta can get the best out of his youthful stars.
There's also the fact that Havertz can play a number of different roles to a high degree, something that could prove invaluable next season as the Gunners look to reignite their title charge and feature back in the Champions League.
Arguably the main reason why Arsenal didn't win the league title last season was their lack of squad depth in key areas. With more matches to play this season, it's crucial that boss Arteta brings in quality additions this summer that won't limit his side's ability when players need resting.
Where will Havertz fit in at Arsenal?
That's the million dollar question so to speak and one that's causing plenty of argument amongst Arsenal and wider football fans across the board.
Perhaps Havertz's main problem since his arrival at Chelsea has come in the form of managers finding his best position.
At Leverkusen, such was his stardom in a lesser quality-filled side (apologies Bayer fans), the German international featured in a number of different roles, the last of which came in the form of a false-nine striker.
That's a position that several Chelsea managers favoured him in, partly due to the fact that attacking options have been limited at the club over recent campaigns, but at Arsenal expect a change.
Rumours suggest that Gunners boss Arteta instead sees Havertz as a replacement for the departing Granit Xhaka who featured heavily as a No. 8 in midfield for the club last season, in a somewhat box-to-box role as seen via his heightened attacking output.
It's also a position that Havertz knows well from his Bundesliga days.
After originally starting out on the right wing during his debut season, he then transitioned to only play through the middle of the park, mostly as an attacking playmaker but also as a box-to-box midfielder on occasion.
Even by his own admission, Havertz has always favoured that role to playing as a striker which again highlights why Arteta views him as the perfect candidate to replace Xhaka.
In fact, it's a position that actually heralded more goals for the German than when he's played upfront since. Thanks to his off-the-ball positioning as mentioned before, so many times Havertz popped up on the edge of the opposition's box before smartly finishing. If he plays there under Arteta at Arsenal, expect his goal contributions to rise as such.
Ultimately, though his time at Stamford Bridge fell light on goal output, what can't be questioned is the German international's link-up ability and chance creation. As such, Havertz could play a huge role in another title push for the Gunners next season and is likely to strike up a strong partnership with players like Odegaard, Saka and Martinelli who will further flourish themselves next to his skill set.
Arsenal 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
MORE: Watch every Premier League match in Canada on Fubo
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
