Paying the second highest price in team history, how did Arsenal use this "four-like dislike"?
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A bit of a surprise, Arsenal, who were supposed to give priority to strengthening the back position, first took a player who resembled a more forward in the summer window - 24-year-old German Havertz who played for Chelsea officially announced the addition of the Gunners, and the two sides signed a long contract. According to earlier reports, the total price of the transfer reached 65 million pounds, which can be the second largest in the history of the Gunners team (after Nikola Pepe), which is definitely a heavyweight signing for the Premier League runners-up and shows the team's ambition after returning to the Champions League. Of course, with Kai Havertz not developing as expected at the Blues, the deal also raises some doubts.
Before this summer, Arsenal and Havertz did not seem to be a couple that could be linked, so when the British media suddenly began to break the scandal two weeks ago, public opinion was still somewhat stunned. According to the impression of most Premier League fans, Kai Havertz should be regarded as the kind of "four-like" player who is inclined to attack, and it is not easy to use Chelsea as a central striker, and if placed in his favorite forward position, it will overlap with Odegaard. That being the case, why should the gunman be in a hurry?
Spaces that need to be filled are coming soon, and after seven years in the Premier League, midfielder Xhaka is ready to return to the Bundesliga. But it is clear that Kai Havertz and Xhaka are not the same type of players. The latter can be classified as a back, more involved in defense, and even played at the back, while Kai Havertz is unlikely to retire to the No. 6 position, and his "diversity" is mainly the attacking positions of forward, right winger and attacking midfield, so it is difficult to be regarded as a counterpoint reinforcement. However, from another point of view, what the Gunners need is not necessarily a "copy" or "enhanced version" of Xhaka, and it is not impossible to use another style of player to seek new tactical breakthroughs.
Regarding Havertz's positioning at Arsenal, after some discussion, various British media still think that he may appear in the "No. 8 position on the left", that is, the role of Xhaka in the past season. It should be pointed out that the Swiss midfielder's defensive tasks in 2022-23 have actually been much lighter than before. Thanks to manager Mikel Arteta's introduction of "wing-back" tactics at the Arsenal, Xhaka often does not even have to distribute the ball to organize, but is free to press forward and even into the box, which is also a secret to his significant improvement in performance over the past year. In contrast, Havertz, who can play as a striker, has a stronger desire to insert and explosiveness. According to statistics, the German has made a total of 334 runs without the ball into the opponent's box in the Premier League this past season, and Haaland has only 349 times in the entire league.
Given that Manchester City's centre-forward scored 36 goals and Arsenal's new signing has only seven league goals in 2022-23, it is inevitable that the previous set of "inserted" statistics may seem a bit unconvincing, but Havertz's poor efficiency may simply be because he is placed in the wrong position or does not have the right tactics. At least in Arteta's opinion, the 24-year-old is still a very high-grade semi-finished product to be processed, and after careful polishing, it will become a big product. According to previous British media news, Arteta has "admired Havertz for a long time", and the latter also believes that defecting to the Spanish coach is the best choice.
In the 2016-17 season, the 17-year-old Havertz made his professional debut at Bayer Leverkusen. Two years later, in 2018-19, he shook the Bundesliga with 17 goals and three assists in the league. By joining Chelsea in the Premier League in 2019, Havertz broke the record for the transfer value of a German player, completing an 80 million euro (about £72 million) deal, and it is also said that it can reach 100 million yuan with additional terms. In this way, Arsenal can also be regarded as getting a "discounted price". One is because Chelsea need to lose weight and sell people; Second, Havertz's development with the Blues has indeed not been successful, and although he scored the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final, he is still far from realizing his full talent.
After arriving at Arsenal, Kai Havertz will be reworked and waiting for "rebirth", and at the same time, he may be able to bring a different attacking routine to the Gunners. In addition to the aforementioned "versatility" and "super forward attributes", the German's height of 1.93 meters will also help the team increase the threat from above. Arsenal's 12 Premier League headers in the past season are not few, but it is also a fact of low attack, with Jesus, Saca, Martinelli and Odegaard all under 1.8 metres. Havertz, who has won 2.3 aerial battles per game in the league this past season, is tied for second in Chelsea.
Due to Havertz's low defensive attributes, some fans are worried that if he is allowed to play the No. 8 position, the Gunners will be unbalanced in the field of attack and defense. There are probably two possible solutions for the Gunners: one is that Arteta may expand his tactical combination and no longer cling to a set of main players as he did last season, which is also necessary to play the Champions League on two fronts; Second, the club is still working hard to strengthen the backfield, if the strong back Rice and the backcourt all-rounder Timber can be won, then the team's "worries" will naturally be reduced.
Finally, some people may ask: Bringing in Havertz has cost Arsenal 65 million, so can Rice, who is worth about 100 million, afford it? In addition, Timber looks like it must be at least thirty or forty million. Athletic.com has asked experts to settle the score, convinced that the Gunners will not touch the Premier League or UEFA's financial fair play red line. Due to the good control of salary expenses in the past two years, the team's actual room for operation is greater than that of many of its big rivals. The most important thing is that Arsenal has returned to the Champions League, which will bring at least 30 million euros in direct benefits, and the recovery of brand value is difficult to estimate. Under this premise, the return on investment is more secure, and the boss is naturally willing to continue to spend money.
Author: Yan Yu
The image comes from the Internet