You don't become the youngest player to 50 Bundesliga appearances without something about you do you? Surely you don't score 20 goals in a season before your 20th birthday without possessing elite talent? You don't score the winner in a Champions League final without being a top quality player right? Right?!
Clearly there's something there. Ask any Chelsea fan during his stay in west London and they would probably tell you "Kai's a great player, we just need to find the right system to unlock his potential". Across the course of three years and four different managers though no one ever consistently did. The German seems to possess Schroedinger's potential. You know it's there, but also... is it there?
Still though that didn't stop Mikel Arteta from believing he could be the man to finally let Havertz out of his box. In fact the Spaniard was willing to pay £65million for the privilege to try and do so.
When Havertz arrived, it seemed as though Arteta's solution was a requel. Take the German back to his starring role at Leverkusen, but mould him just slightly to fit the new cast at Arsenal. No longer would he be the floundering false nine that had managed just nine goals in 47 appearances in his final season at Chelsea. Instead Havertz was going to be an all-action middle of the park maestro once again. "He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play," Arteta said on the day the transfer was confirmed.
On paper this made a lot of sense. Granit Xhaka had worked his way back into the hearts of Arsenal fans by playing a box-to-box role that saw him channelling his inner Aaron Ramsey to latch on to balls into the box with third man runs. For all of Xhaka's willingness to embrace the new role though, there's only so much that a leopard can change its spots. The Swiss international managed a career-high nine goals across the course of last season, but it was hard not feel that there were plenty more left on the table.Now with Havertz playing in the role things could be different. “I like to go into the box and score goals, maybe from first contact or two touches,” the German once told The Athletic. Get him doing that in Arsenal shirt and there you had your solution to unlocking his illusive potential. Simple, duh!
Well it hasn't quite worked out that way so far. Havertz is yet to score from open play in a competitive match for Arsenal. Those Xhaka-esque third man runs have been few and far between, and when the German has managed to get on the end of crosses into the box, his finishing has been lacking in confidence and conviction.
Arteta though, has still insisted - using a rather clumsy likening to the wooing of his wife - that with persistence, the good times will come. That though, may not be a luxury that Havertz is afforded. Against Manchester City, Arsenal finished with a midfield three of Thomas Partey, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. Should all come through the international break unscathed, then there is a possibility that Havertz may make his return to Stamford Bridge on Saturday as a substitute. It's certainly hard to finally fulfil your potential if you're not even on the pitch.
But this is not necessarily the blow for Havertz's Arsenal career that some would have you believe it is. Firstly he's only been in north London for three months so such drastic conclusions are a little severe. Also though, it doesn't mean that he still won't have a crucial role to play.
This was evident against City as Havertz came on to set up the game's winning goal. With Pep Guardiola's side looking to press high and Eddie Nketiah tiring as a force to hold up David Raya's more direct approach, Havertz was a crucial out for Arsenal at a point in the game when they needed one. He then showed the quality in the false nine position to smartly tee-up Gabriel Martinelli for a goal that could well have as a big a say in this season's title race as any other.
It's this versatility that made Arteta take the gamble on Havertz. He has already stated that he intends to use him in multiple areas across the season. "We will see – for now, he’s playing in the attacking midfield position, but I’m sure throughout the season and throughout games as well, we’re going to have the options to play him in different positions," he told football.londonduring the pre-season tour of America.
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