Kai Havertz got the nod to start up front against Wolves after a superb second-half of last season. Havertz also impressed at Euro 2024 as Germany got to the last eight on home soil.
And it was his superb header which set Mikel Arteta‘s men on their way to three points on the opening day, with Bukayo Saka doubling the lead with a brilliant goal during the second-half at the Emirates.
Some believe Arsenal cannot win the title with Havertz as the number one striker, with the 25-year-old facing a lot of criticism, particularly since he arrived in the Premier League in 2020. Certainly, it did not appear that Arteta planned to use Havertz regularly as a striker, with the German largely playing as a number eight in the early stages of his Arsenal career.
What Declan Rice said about Kai Havertz which left Rio Ferdinand stunned
But something changed around the turn of the year last season, and Havertz has arguably got better and better. He has now scored 14 league goals in 38 games for the club.
Some perhaps still need to be convinced, but speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand suggested that his teammates have no concerns about Havertz’s suitability as a striker.
Kai Havertz celebrates scoring the 1st Arsenal goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Emirates S...
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
“Do you know what, I spoke to Declan Rice the other day and he spoke about Havertz in such glowing terms, like ‘we don’t need a number nine, Havertz is our guy’. The confidence he exuded, I was like, I didn’t know you guys felt like that about him,” he said.
“He’s a roving, moving centre forward, 10 goals in his last 15 games so he did well at the end of the season. But I’m expecting big things just based on that one conversation with a player that currently plays with him. It’s important when sometimes you hear, they see every day, they see the little details.”
A huge season for Havertz and Arsenal
This feels like a massive season for Arsenal after two near misses in the Premier League title race. Arteta has arguably taken a gamble by investing in another extremely talented defender, rather than an attacking option.
If Arsenal are unable to get across the line this time around, there are surely going to be serious questions about what it is going to take – and there will surely be another debate about whether they have the striker they need.
Havertz did so well once he got his chance up front, but he still has a point to prove as he looks to sustain that kind of form over an entire campaign for a team which now expects to win some sort of silverware.
He is off to a fantastic start with his opening day goal – and Declan Rice is clearly confident that there is so much more to come from the forwards
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