Havertz is NOT a Chelsea reject by Dan Smith
Some Chelsea fans might view us signing Kai Havertz as the latest time we have taken one of their rejects.
Some Gooners might even agree?
Yet, this isn’t a free agent we have purchased, or someone for a reduced fee because they have a year left on their contract.
This sum is 65 million pounds! That transaction doesn’t happen unless Mikel Arteta sees potential in the German and has plans on how to utilise him in our team.
It represents a turning point in negotiations between the two rivals.
Instead of buying individuals past their peak, now we are poaching a 24-year-old with his best years in front of him, someone who can still learn to be better.
This time it’s Chelsea in need of reducing their wage bill, mindful of FFP.
It hasn’t been like this in decades which naturally coincides with our return to the Champions League and Chelsea’s failure to qualify for Europe.
It wasn’t always this way …….
For younger readers, here is the history of Chelsea.
56 years ago Roman Abramovich was born, and 36 years later he randomly pointed onto a map of the UK and his finger happened to land on a rich part of London who’s football team had been a good cup side in the nineties, but in League terms had underachieved so much that they were in danger of going out of business.
Overnight suddenly, Chelsea became one of the richest teams in the world, able to offer wages that most couldn’t compete with.
This coincided with us having to pay off loans to build a new stadium with our action plan being a self-sustained model. That decision was built on the noble yet naive notion that UEFA were serious about their Financial Fair Play rules.
Never before had there been such a divide between the two clubs in terms of wealth. Up to Chelsea’s takeover, the Gunners had been the dominant force in the Capital both in terms of trophies and the Derby fixture itself.
Since leaving, Mr Wenger has gone into detail about the true nature of how we had to pay back bank loans, having already budgeted incoming revenue.
In what perhaps only some understand was a great job now, our manager had to often sell his best player to raise funds, replace him at a fraction of the cost, and yet still find a way to gain a top 4 finish to garner crucial income from Champions League nights.
No wonder he said, ‘top 4 was a trophy’. Looking back, he was simply preparing fans for the reality of our situation. The days of being consistent title challengers were a thing of the past.
Chelsea knew it too. Perhaps representing how far we had fallen; the Blues no longer saw us as a threat so were happy to do business with us.
Not to give us their best players of course, but to throw us a bone occasionally, offering someone in their squad not valuable.
In 2011 they loaned us Benayoun. That never would have happened back at Highbury where Mr Wenger had a policy of only handing out 1 year rolling on contracts once you got to the age of 30.
Jose Mourinho almost gave us a compliment when he resisted Petr Cech joining us, although that might have been an indictment of his disdain for Mr Wenger.
One of the reasons the Portuguese left the Bridge the second time was his employers overriding his decision to block the transfer, rightfully feeling out of respect the keeper deserved a move that appeased his family.
That’s what the Emirates represented, a place where you could remain well paid while living in London.
David Luiz and Willian both joined simply because Chelsea (for a reason) would only extend their contracts by a year, while out of desperation we would offer longer term deals.
Both Cech and Willian have had enough class to not publicly say this, but both struggled in the red corner while so obviously the colour blue.
The leadership in the dressing room and standards and expectations would have been different to what they faced daily in the West End.
In the Prem era, Arsenal have mostly avoided selling assets directly to Chelsea.
At our height of success, it was never in the conversation that any of our stars would crave that move. While under Ken Bates, Chelsea were good enough to not have to ask for any of our fringe players.
The exception to the rule would be Giroud, but we only authorised that to facilitate the capture of Aubameyang. The striker of course has worn both shirts, but that case is more based on his choices.
Ashley Cole swapped with Gallas, Cole only one of two players to lift the Prem title with both.
Petit, Fabregas and Anelka played for both, but went through other destinations first.
All three admitted that their first choice would have been a return to North London.
Anelka rang to ask his mentor to make it happen, while we had a buy back clause in Fabregas’s Barcelona contract.
Mr Wenger either felt financially restricted or personally offended or both.
He was always hurt how Anelka and his brothers conducted themselves in front of him and David Dein to force a move to Madrid. While he felt he didn’t need Fabregas, relying on Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey to stay fit.
Both proved him wrong at the Bridge, excelling after costs that we could have afforded.
So, as you can see, the Kai Havertz transfer represents a changing of the guard, or the world going back to how it should be, depending on your point of view.
Chelsea players not in their prime, now look at the Gunners as an alternative, where they will have a better chance of winning silverware and an opportunity to compete in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
For too long it was the opposite.
Chelsea unfortunately will rise again; they are too rich not too.
You throw enough money at a project eventually it will stick.
For the moment though, I’m going to enjoy every moment of this.
It’s like the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy walks through the door and darkness turns to light and she realises this is how it should be.
Arsenal taking away Chelsea players before their prime.
Just how it was meant to be.
Dan