If you haven’t been impressed by Kai Havertz’s form recently, you’re crazy. Havertz has begun to look like one of the best player’s in the premier league this season, and for a player who had a big price tag hanging over his head, he’s found his place in the best club in London. The Ex Chelsea man has been bagging goals and assists for fun, and while Arsenal still fight for their chance at the title, Havertz has become a key to our success.
Ex Manchester City legend Mich Richards was speaking on ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast about Havertz, saying this “I thought he was always a clever player, wasn’t he? Really skilful, great touch, but I think what us pundits, media, was talking about maybe some of the chances as well that he used to miss, but now he seems to be taking those chances a lot more.”
“He has always been a good player, if you watch him. This system, that’s why you have got to give Arteta credit. I prefer him further forward. When he plays a little bit deeper, I prefer a Partey or a Jorginho in there and him having the freedom to do what he needs to do.”
At the start of this season, he looked like he was finding it hard to adjust and if were being honest, that’s normally, it’s not often player can just come sraught into a squad a slip right into the swing of things, that and the fact he had a big price tag and was from Chelsea, must have been hard. But since the new year, he’s looked like a completely different player.
I’ve said it before, but the environment at Chelsea seems very off to me and while he was there, it was like he was trapped and wasn’t given the freedom that Arteta has given him. Areta clearly trusts him and although it was shaky at the start, he’s really become his best self and has been killing it.
I too think he’s better off up front, not just because it’s his preferred position, but because he looks at his best there and a lot more comfortable. He manages to get into the right spots at the right time and can create magic from nowhere, showing up in the bigger games when we’ve needed him the most.
I’m incredibly impressed and I’m sure everyone else is by now as well
Daisy Mae
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I think KH has come on leaps and bounds for us over the 2nd half of the season
The one thing I want him to do more is go pass players and be a bit more aggressive
He has pace to burn and on occasion on a 1 on 1 we all know he can ghost past the player but he would rather stop a d come back inside or play it back
Overall though he has been good for us
If you think people are crazy because they don’t like who you like, you must be stupid.
Why must we have an article to convince us any time Kai scores or gets an assist. WHY AREN’T WE SEEING SUCH ABOUT OTHER ARSENAL PLAYERS
Haha. You obviously only read articles that have Havertz in the title. Maybe go to the index and have a look at a few other titles?
There are a lot of articles from other writers about other players. And are there archived for anyone to read and enjoy and of course comment.
This blog has been one of the diverse blogs about Arsenal matters in terms of its writers, readers and contents.
Hopefully, one day, many readers will realise (I have realised this already!) this and credit the admin/owner for their priceless work they put into it.
Let’s be “fair” and “reasonable” in our options! Some of these options aren’t…
Keep up good work all at Just Arsenal.
What is your problem, Tomi A? I am beginning to think that sometimes Admin fails to notice certain things otherwise Tomi’s angry writing should not have been published! What are you insinuating? It is actually you Tomi with a problem! Why should you attack the writer for expressing her views which, in my assessment, are factual? What distortions has she made? If you don’t like the player being talked about that’s your business but don’t open up an uncalled for verbal exchange with the writer. Instead, you can write your own article explaining why you disagree with the writer.
This is the most insulting article I have seen here. So people are crazy because they don’t like a player. What happened to personal opinion.
Moreover, what I have seen here so far is people who have RESERVATIONS about Havertz, and understandably so. A few good performances at Arsenal cannot suddenly easily erase 3 whole seasons of desperate mediocrity at a Champions League winning club.
I have come to really like him myself as I have said here some time ago but to call people CRAZY because they don’t share that view is damn right insulting
I must admit I thought long and hard about the title. I assume that you are NOT impressed with Havertz. So should I have used “mad” or “borderline insane” or “shortsighted”? As I say I was perplexed as to the title. Maybe you could help by telling us how I should have described you?
Just a pertinent thought AdPAT.
You have in the sometime ago now past, admonished me and also censored one of my posts for calling someone “crazy”!
Just goes to show how true it is, as I OFTEN POST, that ALL normal humans are hypocrites ,by our very nature.
Which is WHY I constantly battle you for the liberally important right to use free speech and not be controlled by the sinister, illiberal use of “wokery”!
Errr please be specific on that particular censored comment please. There have been so many…..
dgr8xt, your point about fans having reservations and three seasons of desperate mediocrity made me think about MA and how those of us who had reservations during those first three seasons, were called disloyal among other things!!
Funny old game of opinions!! 🤔
Ken
I think very few “disliked” Havertz when he joined Arsenal.
Most of the doubt was regarding him being played as a midfielder. Fans were right as he has been average to poor as a midfielder.
However he improved when moved to striker, and has been an upgrade over Jesus as striker.
He is producing as a striker, good for him and great for Arsenal.
If Arteta wants to be ruthless, sell Jesus and Vieira/Nelson and bring in a RW. Another Trossard type; meaning can produce for the club, but obviously a rotation player short term starter.
Durand, the “hatred” that was displayed by sections of the fanbase, was off the richter scale!!
It started even before he signed for the club – another chelsea reject was the favourite phrase used, but he has certainly proved those doubters wrong.
Still cannot understand his reported salary mind you, will we ever learn?
@dgr8tx the article does not ask you to like Havertz (some clearly never will), what the article states clearly is “If you haven’t been impressed by Kai Havertz’s form recently, you’re crazy”
and if you are not impressed by Havertz positive influence on the critical PL run-in in the big games then you are either blind, crazy or not an Arsenal fan
the embedded condemnation of Havertz before even kicked a ball in Arsenal shirt is regrettably not going to change for some no matter what
naively I hoped Arsenal supporters were different to others, regrettably not
it is perhaps just more pragmatic to agree to disagree, and not let the mindless trolls bring this very special moment (the most fun I have had supporting Arsenal in 20 years) down
this is best Arsenal team I have ever seen*, and like it or not Havertz is a part of that
* even if Man C pip us what i see is the best team i have seen (in this modern age of football Man C would beat the ‘invincibles’)
I want to be realistic. Kai is a very smart and hardworking player. He knows how to identify open spaces and create space for others, and that is why top coaches love him so much.
In other aspects, he is not as good. His first touch, and technical ability in shooting, passing, header, and takel are mediocre or worse. He can’t dribble and take on defenders.
Overall, he is a good player, but over time probably not the striker to win us the PL and CL. He can win us points against Spurs and Chelsea, not score deceive goals against City and Bayren, where the level of defenders is higher.
*decisive goals
should city replace Haland because in the two games hes played against arsenal and madrid he hasnt scored one?
unless we win PL this year of course because then he clearly is, even only playing one third of the season in that role – stats are 12 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses (Villa he was #8)
Can we have daily articles about Rice, Saliba, and Odegaard, please? As they are the pillars of this team?
Isn’t the constant celebration or condemnation of Havertz a bit too much?
I am sure Mbappe, Messi, Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Son Hueng, Vinicius, Haaland, Foden, etc do not and did not get praised this much by their fans despite beworld-classlass players which Havertz is not, and with weekly world-class performances which Havertz can only dream of for now!!
Can we win the title without Havertz? YES!
Can we win the title without either of the three pillars mentioned above? NO!
I have been impressed with Kai Havertz’s form recently and hoping that means I’m in the not crazy camp. Not that I’m seeking validation of my sanity on a football forum.
I, with my head hung in shame, stand before you and admit up until about 10 games ago, thought Kai was a waste of money.
In the last 10 games, Kai has been improving game by game but still a bit sloppy in possession. Not by far the finished article but a damn sight better than his first 10 games at Arsenal. I do believe he hasn’t justified his wages and transfer fee but that’s not his fault, it’s the club’s fault for offering that for/to him.
The ifs and buts that surround him is because we was playing beautiful and attacking football last year and came a close second to Man city. All we needed were some minor tweaks (defensive midfielder, striker and Xhaka replacement) and we should surely be winning the PL this season.
The tweaks we got was Rice, amazing business and awnsered our midfield problem of when losing Partey to injury last season, we lacked strong enough cover. Timber, okay but we got Ben White with Tomi that can cover there, fair enough as he’s versatile. Then we got Raya and Kai Havertz- that was baffling!? I definitely would not have called last season that we had a problem in the goalkeeping department, Ramsdale looked like he was going to be our next David Seaman. As for Kai, I kind of understood that we needed someone to replace Granit Xhaka and Kai could actually fit the bill but no way was he worth more than £30M or £100-120k per week. Not Kai’s fault Arsenal gave him that, good luck to him and wish him the best. For me the price and wages we paid was baffling, still is. It is the reason Kai was relentlessly started at the beginning and I felt Arteta could have made him fight for a start, into an Arsenal team that were playing amazing football last season, rather than walk into the lineup. He had to start, being one of the highest paid players. It has definitely helped his progress as he looks so much more settled now but with a price tag like that, I had higher expectations from him and feel he should have hit form sooner. I am happy to see him playing better and if he keeps on improving and ends up justifying his price and wages and more, then I will happily eat more humble pie.
For now though, I wonder had we got a striker instead of Kai and played anyone of the many midfielders we had already, in Xhakas old role, would we have been on more points right now?
As for Ramsdale, gutted for him as he is a lovely character and it’s thanks to him and the confidence he gave our defence last season, that got us into the Champions league. Really struggling to understand this one and remain baffled.
I’m crazy.but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
To be frank, if we do not think Kai is playing good/great football, it is also denying Arsenal is playing good/great football, which we only have one loss in the league.
On the whole, we are scoring the most, we are conceding the least, on par with City in almost every category and only one game apart us.
If this is not an achievement, I do not know what it is. Like some said here, you like it or not, Kai is part of this good/great team, and one of the most important players since November.
He is a hot topic here because most of the fans and pundits wrote him off regardless.
Crazy? Maybe not. Biased to the fault? Maybe yes. It’s all about the idea of investment. People get invested in players, rather too soon, whether positively or negatively. Human beings like to be able to speak about any event or person as soon as it surfaces, rather than allowing insights to come to them over time and make good judgements and opinions based on those insights. It’s that early investment, and heavier the investment, larger the momentum. That’s a risky affair as that momentum can prove to be too large to be able to pause and reflect on the matter. And the more heavily invested you are, the more heavy the denial to accept the opposite. I wouldn’t call it crazy, just hasty investment in a matter.
I knew Kai is a talent, but his spell at chelsea was ehh. But then knowing chelsea, I gave the benefit of doubt to him. I was prepared to be dissapointed, but prepared to be excited at the same time so it was easy for me to see Kai improve and make right judgements out of what I see every game. I see that, Kai is improving greatly! Possibly the most improved player of the season? Also, he is the kind of individual who is brought down by his own thoughts, and conviction, or lack there of. Not by people’s opinion of him. So I see a confident player full of conviction now, having left behind the bad memories at his past club. And he’s just 24! I don’t know why people seem to completely miss that in conversations. What I see is a player, who has the immense workrate, a great attitude, I love his game management and the way his harasses players, nudges them, make them uncomfortable, and get in their heads. He is a package. Now if he improves his clinicality a bit more, because his runs behind the last line is second to none I would say. How many runs have he mad so far, and how many of them were offsides? Hardly any! He just needs to be a bit more ruthless, and take chances himself more. And he has age in his side, andI have certainly seen improvement in that regard recently. So long may it continue. I can’t wait to see how his learning trajectory take him, and what kind of player we get in the end.
Did we missed the chance of winning the PL title by -not putting Havrez up front against Villa??
-not bringing Partey back bit earlier
Loosing to Villa isnt the sword that did the damage. That 2-2 draw against ten man Fulham and the loss to Fulham for me.