Kai Havertz to Arsenal : Highs, lows and expectations as London rivals do business again

Since news of Arsenal's interest in luring Kai Havertz from Chelsea to the Emirates broke last week, fans have begin to wonder where the German will fit into Mikel Arteta's set up.

Obviously, the former Bayer Leverkusen teenager can be deployed in multiple position but if he is to take up a major role in the side, there are only limited spot available to slot into.

Given Arsenal's priority in the window and the names set to leave the club this summer, incoming will also determine the plans Arteta has for the 24-year old.

Of the roles Kai Havertz will most likely undertake in North London are any of the three attacking positions, either of the two No.8 positions. The German can also play as a No.10, pulling the strings behind the striker, ahead the two central midfield players and flanked by the winners.

His years at Chelsea has been overshadowed by the managers's inability to play him to his strengths. Despite playing under multiple Coaches at the club, none of them really setup their teams to enable him express himself better.

Strengths of the German

The most important strength of Kai Havertz is his ability to play in multiple positions. Although last season at Chelsea, he was deployed mostly as a No.9 due to the dropped form and lack of options at the club.

The 24year old plays off the main striker, as the second striker and that was where he played most in his time with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He has the qualities of a striker, though lacking in some areas.

Seldomly, he plays on the flank as well as the No.10 in a 4-2-3-1. Aided by his tidyness in possession and good passing, he is able to perform his duties as a winger.

Weakness

Despite his frame, Havertz struggles when deployed as an outlet because he has neither the pace nor the power of an average athlete. When pressing from the front, he offers little to nothing compared to how a player like Gabriel Jesus does.

Havertz is also a shy type when it comes to duels, both ground and on the air. Thus, the German lacks the etiquette needed to recover possession in the final third, and this is something that makes Arsenal thrive.

His low technical security does not also help matters. Hence, he struggles when up against defenders who glue to their man. Havertz is easily marshaled off the ball due to his lack of enough strength and muscles.

Albeit Havertz is very good when attacking the goal with his head, he is does not show much eagerness in contesting duels to give teammates the chance to pickup the second balls.

Kai Havertz at Arsenal

Mikel Arteta is in for a massive summer as his Arsenal side prepare to return to the Champions League. Yet, qualifying is not enough as in order to be competitive enough in Europe's number one club competition, there's a need to upgrade the quality and in depth.

Havertz comes in as a marque signing and famous for his versatility, that is the only clarity about him and purpose of doing this deal as fans continue to wait until he starts representing the club.

Granit Xhaka replacement ? Not really!

The imminent departure of Granit Xhaka means Arsenal have to bring in a replacement. Kai Havertz replacing him is not really the best fit if Arsenal are to continues with the 4-3-3 formation, which brought them a lot of success last season.

Not going overboard but Granit Xhaka's defensive contributions for Arsenal can never be overemphasized. Per 90 minutes in the last Premier League season, he averaged 0.4 interception, 0.9 tackles and 1.1 defensive clearances.

These are numbers managed while also making up the numbers (one of the advanced five) when Arsenal press forward in transition and fall into the 2-3-5 set-up.

There are various highlights of the Swiss midfielder making great blocks and defensive tackles last season. Unfortunately, these are stuffs Havertz obviously can not pull off.

Two very different players. It is very unlikely that Kai Havertz replaces Granit Xhaka in a 4-3-3.

Mikel Arteta experimented this like in the last season with Fabio Vieira and it never really went well as the Portuguese struggled to make impact. Neither the Portuguese nor Havertz has that defensive contributions Xhaka displays.

A new replacement for Xhaka is still to come if the club wants any. However, instances where Havertz could replace the Swiss captain in the XI can be, and will be discussed as we go further in this article.

Kai Havertz role (s) at Arsenal

As a No.8

Of the positions Havertz could play in at Arsenal is the No.8s in a 4-3-3 — he is more suited to that of Martin Ødegaard but there could be instances where the manager could choose to play the two on either sides of the midfield.

Havertz in the Ødegaard position is a no brainer. The two players are similar in so many ways. Think of the Kai Havertz Chelsea paid £71 million to Bayer Leverkusen for, a real definition of a productive playmaker.

Just like the current Arsenal captain, Havertz has those line breaking passes that set-up teammates in promising positions. His vision is also a great asset for the team's build up, as he can help unlock defenses with it.

His output in his final season before leaving the Bundesliga is also very similar to that of Martin Ødegaard in the concluded Premier League season, 12 goals and six assists in 30 appearances compared to Ødegaard's 15 goals and seven assists in 37 games.

Should Arteta choose to field in both Havertz and Ødegaard in the same XI, it is good news for a player like Gabriel Martinelli, who occupies the left wing role.

Seldomly in the last season, we saw how much Martinelli played better whenever Ødegaard drifted to the left. Havertz can as well get the best of the Brazilian in the same manner.

However, it does mean Arsenal will have to switch to a different formation like the 3-2-4-1, just like we saw with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City last season - with Declan Rice and maybe Thomas Partey or Romeo Lavia in a double pivot to combat pressure, regain and sustain possession.

This way, they become more fluid in attack and hence, they get to create more openings and chances, force errors from the opponents and enjoy a lion share of the possession.

Havertz as an outlet

With the way Arsenal set-up, Kai Havertz can be very useful in multiple ways thanks to his versatility and as a main striker is another one of the positions to be analyzed.

Definitely, he can be pictured leading the line for Arsenal next season. Havertz is not the most prolific type of a No.9s but in an Arsenal team where there's always fluid once they get into their rhythm, he'll be very effective.

As per data provided by Opta, Kai Havertz made 334 off ball runs into the opposition box in the concluded Premier League season, a number only second to Erling Haaland.

This means he is a willing runner, and will be able to make those runs, which upsets the opposition defense, whether or not he receives the ball, it does create openings for other players, mostly the widemen to attack the goal.

A striker effective on and off the ball, a dream of every manager. Havertz was also caught offside on 28 occasions, only Jamie Vardy was penalized more times than the German during the campaign.

This translates into the fact that there's work to do for Mikel Arteta in order to get the run more timely - yet, comparing Arsenal's midfielders to those at Chelsea, the former are more creative and can get to make the German beat the offside flag with their passing.

Havertz has that hold up play. Can tiptoe his way out of tight spaces. Has great vision for a pass. Combines well with teammates. Maybe not explosive but very difficult to dispose and aerially, he attacks the ball like a beast.

Of his 15 league goals in the last two seasons, 40 per cent have come from headers. His height of 1.9 meters will make him the tallest of the Arsenal attackers - Gabriel Jesus is 1.75 meters, Eddie Nketiah is 1.8 meters, and even Martinelli is 1.78 meters tall.

This statistics indicate that Arsenal are lacking the aerial presence in the opposing box as their strikers do not have the required height to really pressurize the opposition defense, hence their full-backs struggle to assist the strikers.

Ben White is the only full back to assist either of Arsenal's striker last season in the league, doing so only once - to Gabriel Jesus against West Ham United.

None of their crosses has also resulted in a goal for the strikers because they lack the frame to compete for duels against big players.

The midfielders making those late runs into the box have reaped more dividends of the cutbacks, but this makes them predictable even as a unit, because they are most likely to go for a cutback eight out of ten times they have the chance to cross the ball.

The imminent arrival of Kai Havertz changes that and definitely makes their chances utilization ratio better while also improving and increasing the dynamism in attack.

Havertz as a No.10 or a second striker

In a 4-2-3-1, Havertz slots in seamlessly whence playing of the shoulder of the main strike or as the No.10, pulling the strings, connecting the center of the midfield with attack.

He did that to perfection many atimes during his time with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

Moreso, Havertz is an option on the flanks and Mikel Arteta must surely have pictured that possibility as well, at some point in the career of the 24year old if a move materialize.

Overall assessment

Havertz, at 24 still has the time to develop his body frame and become more physically intimidating for defenders. His struggles in England so far has been down to his physical shortcomings.

Moreso, playing in the Chelsea attack that has not been consistent in recent times has not helped matters, because even in these period, he has been arguably Germany's best attacker with the National team.

The hope at Arsenal will be that he develop his body as then, all will get even better for him. There's a reason both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also into him.

Whether he is deployed as a midfielder, on the flank or as the striker (most likely), the environment and set-up at Arsenal does suits a player like him, and what the future holds for him is improved performance than he delivered at Chelsea.

Kehinde Hassan Afolabi