Kai Havertz has revealed his “excitement” after finally completing his long-awaited £65million transfer from Chelsea to Arsenal.
The German forward was officially unveiled as Mikel Arteta’s first signing of a huge summer recruitment push on Wednesday, signing a long-term contract having swapped west for north London.
Havertz, who will continue to wear the No29 shirt, is expected to be followed through the entrance door at the Emirates Stadium by Declan Rice, with Arsenal now having reached an agreement in principle with West Ham over a mammoth £105m deal for the England midfielder.
The Gunners are also working to boost their defence with a deal for versatile Netherlands international Jurrien Timber at Ajax.
Arsenal are keen to get their major transfer business done early this summer so they can fully prepare for what they hope will be another Premier League title tilt next term as they also return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.
“It’s super exciting for me personally,” Havertz told Arsenal’s official website having signed on the dotted line in Marbella, where he is currently enjoying a post-season holiday on Spain’s Costa del Sol following international duty with Germany.
“I’m so glad to join this amazing club. This club has such a big history, and I hope we we can achieve lots of things, and I’m just looking forward to meeting all the players, the staff, and yeah, it’s going to be exciting.”While Havertz typically played as a striker during three up-and-down years at Chelsea following his £75m switch from Bayer Leverkusen that included the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City in Porto, Arteta recognises his versatility and may frequently opt to deploy the 24-year-old in a deeper midfield role next season alongside captain Martin Odegaard.
Asked about his former battles with Arsenal while wearing Blue, Havertz claimed the club’s “family mentality” was something he clearly admires.
“I think the family mentality that the team has on the pitch is one of the reasons why it so hard to play against Arsenal,” he said.
“I guess they have it off the pitch as well. So the team mentality in the squad is very, very high and you can feel that. Obviously there's so many talented players and there’s big room to achieve big things as well."
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