The Kai Havertz Dilemma
Lots of commentators, pundits and Arsenal fans have been weighing in on the Kai Havertz debate as to whether he is a good signing for Arsenal or a future expensive flop. Ironically a lot of the Arsenal fanbase who are bemoaning the price paid by Arsenal were the same who were appalled that the club managed to be outbid by Chelsea in the pursuit of Mudryk.
Thus, they felt that Edu made a mistake in not paying over £88 million for a largely unproven player from the Ukrainian league, and then made a further mishap for paying £23 million less for an established German international who has scored the winner in the Champions League and World Club finals. The guy just can’t win. However, looking at the Havertz signing through the optic of comparative analysis with a different transfer is not the way to judge whether he will be a good signing or not.
The question is what will Havertz bring to Arsenal. The most quoted quality is his versatility. It has been frequently stated that he can play on both wings, the number 10 role, the number 8 role, false number 9 and striker.
The impression given when these roles are discussed is the implementation of the player in any of these selected positions in which he will be placed, and there he shall remain. This undermines the fluid quality that a versatile player offers. The fact that Havertz has the skill set to perform the duties required in these varied positions outlines his capacity to adapt, and that capacity creates an unpredictability that defenders despise.
Defenders relish structure and consistency. They like to be able to pre-empt what an attacker is going to do and adjust their body position accordingly. Havertz’s versatility undermines this as he can chose to attack from any of the variety of roles that he is capable of performing in. So, the true virtue of a versatile player is not being simply being able to play a distinct role in a game but having the ability to play all of them at different junctures in the course of the contest.
Chelsea didn’t offer the dynamic movement required to take advantage of his versatility and Havertz was restricted in being able to demonstrate the full extent of his qualities. Arsenal’s attack on the other hand is primarily centred around the constant movement of Jesus, Odegaard, Nketiah and Martinelli which should offer the new recruit a range of options to open up defences with.
Another important element of Havertz’s contribution is his pressing. His pressing stats are among the most impressive in the Premier League and this is a very attractive feature for an Arteta team who look to defend from the front. Given the already considerable pressure applied by the constant running of the existing forwards the addition of another effective pressure will prove to be a headache for team’s intent of playing out from the back, which is omnipresent in the Premiership at the minute. And this brings up another point about the Havertz signing. It shouldn’t be assessed in isolation but viewed through the strategy of the transfer window as a whole thus far.
The three other prominent names that have emerged along with Havertz in this window are Rice, Timber and Lavia. The fact that Arteta and Edu are relentlessly pursuing these players having effectively secured Havertz’s signature is by design. If you are buying another attacking midfielder to press on the opposition, thereby committing five players to the press then it is essential that if that press is bypassed that you have a midfielder with a very high interception rate behind them to interrupt the unfolding attack, if not break it down completely.
It’s important to highlight that interceptions are different to tackles made in the sense that an interception is predicting where the ball is going to go whereas a tackle is dispossessing the opponent. A player with a high interception rate has the capacity to read the emerging play and locate himself in the most advantageous position to break it up.
This is where Rice and Lavia excel. They are both excellent readers of the game and will offer a safety net that helps minimize the risk of having so many attackers committed to chasing the ball down. They are not needed to win the ball necessarily, but position themselves to slow the play enabling the attackers to get back into position.
Should Rice and Lavia be unable to break down or slow the play then it is critical that your defenders have speed as they will be playing a high line in order to squeeze the pitch so that the initial press was done as close to the oppositions box as possible. This is where Saliba was sorely missed at the tail end of last season and that is why Timber is being sought.
Gabriel needs a partner who can cover the ground quickly for recovery tackles because he has a large section of the pitch to patrol due to Zinchenko’s inverted role. Zinchenko’s role offers assistance to the defensive midfielder but creates space on the left side. Therefore, it is critical that the other central defender is fast as he will also have a substantial chunk of real estate to look after.
The point is that Havertz wasn’t bought on a whim but with the intent of buying the other players who are needed to initiate the system that will make him considerably more potent along with increasing the effectiveness of the rest of the attacking unit. There is no doubt that this an expensive strategy and may not deliver, but it is also a very daring one and has huge exciting potential that this particular Gooner is salivating at the thought of seeing it in action.
Trust the process.
Peter Doherty