Last season, Arsenal came pretty close to winning their first Premier League title since 2003/04. In the end, Manchester City proved to have just too much quality, with the Gunners finishing in second place only five points behind.
In the summer, Mikel Arteta looked to strengthen his team with some new signings in the hope that they can go one step further this time around and actually win the title. Notable incomings include David Raya, Jurrien Timber, and Declan Rice. However, the deal that caused the most controversy was the £65m paid to London rivals Chelsea to acquire the services of Kai Havertz.
While he had scored a Champions League-winning goal for the Blues, the German had divided opinion during his time at Stamford Bridge as he never quite lived up to his full potential after initially arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £75.8m. One of the reasons Arsenal signed Havertz was because Granit Xhaka was heading to the Bundesliga to, coincidentally, play for the German's former club.
Before joining Leverkusen, the Swiss midfielder had enjoyed a fine season for the Gunners, playing 37 times in the Premier League, scoring seven goals and picking up seven assists as a key cog in Arteta's well-oiled machine. Even so, his heart was set on a summer exit and so Havertz arrived for big money to replace Xhaka.
Since then, it's fair to say it hasn't necessarily looked like an upgrade. Indeed, Havertz has looked like an awkward fit at times while Xhaka has seamlessly slotted into Xabi Alonso's team who currently sit at the very top of the Bundesliga table. As domestic football has been put on hold for a while to allow for some international fixtures, it feels like a good time to compare each player's stats.
A comparison, using data from Squawka, was circulated on social media and we've gone into more detail about just what it all means. You can read our take on things by reading more below.Kai Havertz vs Granit Xhaka - 2023/24 in the league so far
Statistic
Kai Havertz
Granit Xhaka
Games Played
12
11
Touches
395
1211
Ball Recoveries
31
72
Shot Accuracy %
11.11%
60%
Shots on Target
1
3
Chances Created
9
12
Passes Completed
235
1016
Pass Accuracy %
83.33%
92.62%
Through Balls Attempted
0
4
Successful Lay-offs
9
17
Passes Completed (opp. half)
162
558
Passes Completed (own half)
73
458
Forward Passes
73
267
Take-ons Completed
1
6
Take-on Success %
14.29%
66.67%
Aerial Duel Success %
50%
69.57%
Ground Duel Success %
49.18%
52.46%
Clearances
4
12
Interceptions
5
9
Blocks
1
3
Yellow Cards
4
3
Havertz surprisingly defensively-minded
It is important to note that Xhaka may have played in one fewer game than Havertz, but he has played more minutes – which obviously will help him have better statistics in areas such as the number of passes completed and ball recoveries. Although not listed in the stats above, the Leverkusen star has 969 minutes compared to Havertz's 715. Even so, it's quite remarkable that he is superior to the Arsenal man when it comes to every category listed above.
For the most part, the Swiss midfielder played as a more defensive midfielder for the Gunners and it wasn't until his final season in north London that Arteta realised that he could prove to be a better asset when given the freedom to push a little further up the pitch. It seems as though Alonso has also encouraged Xhaka to be less of a destroyer in Germany.
Arsenal attacking midfielder Kai Havertz
As you can see, he isn't actually doing much more defensive work than Havertz – who is primarily viewed as an attacking footballer and often played up front in a Chelsea shirt. Despite having played 254 more minutes, Xhaka has only made two more blocks and four more interceptions. That Havertz has one more yellow card also shows how the new Arsenal man isn't afraid to do the dirty work for his club. They are also pretty close to one another when it comes to the success of their ground duels – 49.18% compared to 52.46%.
Xhaka shows his class on the ball
In possession, however, it's clear to see that Xhaka is providing much more for his team. After all, despite having played about 2.8 more games than Havertz (in terms of minutes in total), the 31-year-old has completed a whopping 1016 passes and had 1211 touches. The 24-year-old, on the other hand, has made just 235 passes and had only 395 touches. What's more, Xhaka has also been more accurate with those passes by a margin of 9.29%. Also, as per Squawka, Xhaka has made more successful passes into the final third than any other player in Europe's top seven leagues this season (129).
All this would be more understandable if Havertz was really just focused on delivering good attacking numbers, but unfortunately, he also falls short in this category. Indeed, while the German does have a goal and an assist to his name in the league so far, and Xhaka is yet to deliver on that front, the underlying statistics suggest that the Swiss international is more likely to contribute in the attacking third sooner rather than later.Havertz struggling in attack
After all, Xhaka has attempted four through balls (compared to zero); managed 17 successful lay-offs (compared to nine); managed six take-ones (compared to 1); and had three shots on target (compared to one). At least when it comes to chances created, Havertz isn't that far behind, nine compared to 12, despite playing fewer minutes. Still, as someone who is expected to make more of a difference in the attacking third, it's clear that the Arsenal man has been underperforming.
Of course, it is still early days yet and it shouldn't be forgotten that it took a good number of years before Xhaka started to truly shine for the Gunners, but it's clear that one midfielder is playing a lot better than the other right now. Perhaps this international break will be a good chance for Havertz to have a little bit of a reset. He has been called into the German squad to take on Turkey and Austria, while Xhaka will represent Switzerland against Israel, Kosovo, and Romania.
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