In a surprising summer move, Arsenal secured the services of Kai Havertz from Chelsea in a £65 million deal. The question on many minds was how the young midfielder would adapt to his new environment, especially given his modest 19 Premier League goals in three seasons at Chelsea.
Arsenal has been tweaking its formation to accommodate Havertz, who is yet to open his account for Mikel Arteta’s team. The pressure on him is palpable, fueled by the weighty price tag and high expectations. Havertz’s integration into the squad remains a subject of scrutiny.
Havertz’s time at Chelsea was marked by intermittent flashes of brilliance, but consistency proved elusive. His return to a midfield role he excelled in at Bayer Leverkusen brings hope for a resurgence in form. The challenge for Havertz lies in recapturing the magic that initially propelled him into the European football limelight.
The early days at Arsenal are undoubtedly a period of adjustment for Havertz. The weight of expectations, coupled with the sizeable transfer fee, adds to the pressure. However, patience is key in these early stages. Every player requires time to settle into a new club, and Havertz is no exception.
The recent triumph against Manchester United offers a glimmer of hope. While Havertz is yet to hit his stride, there’s a prevailing belief in his potential to thrive under Arteta’s guidance. The lack of confidence and adaptation phase are par for the course with such transitions.
Kai Havertz’s Arsenal journey is just beginning. The challenges he faces are surmountable, and with time and support, he’s poised to deliver the performances that justified his acquisition. As the international break offers a breather, there’s optimism that Havertz will return reenergized, ready to prove his ability is still there.
The player himself is obviously aware of the pressure on him to start earning his masive wages, but he sure it will get better soon, after this “phase” he is going through…..
🗣️| Kai Havertz on his difficult start at Arsenal: “Sure, something like that keeps you busy. But I have often had a phase and then you often only see the negative. It's not the first club where I start again.
“Of course, you want to succeed as soon as possible, but I know that… pic.twitter.com/w9ux0QpD8b
— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) September 7, 2023
He said: “Sure, things like that keep you busy.
‘But I’ve often had a phase and that you often only see the negative. It’s not the first club where I’m starting over.
‘Of course, you want to be successful as quickly as possible, but I know that there are phases like that. I try to approach it in a relaxed manner.’
Maybe if the fans didn’t put so much pressure on him, he could relax a bit more and stop trying too hard?
Sam P
Who wouldn’t be relaxed when they know their performance in the pitch will not, in any way affect their earnings at the end of the day. Worst of all, the person charged with monitoring his output and pushing him for the benefit of the team is not bothered at all. What coach in the history of football, ever goes out to pay top dollar for an underperforming player? Why are we only fetching £4million on Pepe? Why didn’t we get a penny for Ozil or Obameyang? Why’s it so hard to sell Cedric? That’s because other clubs have thinking heads, and have no time for infatuations. They don’t dream of building castles in the sky.
Mohlanka
Well expressed. If Havertz is going ‘to do it’, he needs to do it now. Football in it’s reality is ‘unforgiving’ and we all have eyes. There will be no ‘propaganda’ that will mask and protect Havertz if he does not live up to Arteta’s hype. Meanwhile other grade A players like Leo Trossard are missing time to show their undoubted creativity. There is a limit to how long supporters will accept clear second best.
Harvetz need not to relax , rather he should pull up his socks. if i were harvetz , i would come out clean and tell the manager that its best for the club and me to have time of reading the game from the bench and come up later after some inspirations. To Arteta you cant be a runner up last season and come back with ill fated experiments when hopes are high. Remember we trusted the process , this time what are we supposed to do. My advise is start Trossad , dump Kai and advertise him to Saudi league and recover at most 3/4 of our 65k.
What a sensible last paragraph.
Sam let me help you with that last paragraph….
Maybe if the manager didn’t put so much pressure on him by starting him instead of introducing him at a slower pace, he could relax a bit more and stop trying too hard?
I would add ,if a player cannot handle pressure he’s got no chance in succeeding,the very best thrive on it .
It’s not like he’s come into a team that is struggling,a player who apparently is top quality should fit effortlessly into a well organised team which we are .
That could be the problem,he may be too relaxed.i swear when he missed that sitter,I thought his leg/foot would end up in the stands!!
Giving time and patience to new players is fair enough but would Arteta have given the same time and patience to other non performing players is the question. No doubt Havertz may come good after some more time, but starting Havertz presently whilst he is struggling and keeping other better players on the bench is not only unfair to other players but also risky as it could cost Arsenal points. Let Havertz be slowly integrated into the team and depending on his progress and performances, let Arteta decide whether to start him or not. I wish well for Havertz but consistently giving him starts over other better players is not fair. Arsenal is bigger than any player and the priority should be to play the best XI irrespective of price tag/wages.
@,gunnerforlife
Well said👍
If Arteta can maximize Havertz’s physicality in the final-third, he’d likely perform better
Arteta should’ve seen how Willian performed at Fulham. He’s assigned to the left-wing and central positions since joining the club, unlike when he was forced to play RW at Arsenal
I’m afraid similar thing is happening
Seems to me we are really missing Xhaka.
Last season he was a real threat in attack, and an important player defending.
I really don’t see Trossard or ESR being able to fill that role. They are lacking defensively.
Havertz may have all the attributes for the role, and I am happy to see him get more time to fill it.
Like most other who post, I am very disappointed with what we have seen from Havertz , SO FAR.
However, we have to back our managers judgement, until it becomes obvious it either was, or was not, a misjudgement.
At that stage and not before, we are entitled to either praise or criticise the manager, as the buck stops with him, as with all new imports. Quite rightly too.
A constant source of irritation to me is how so many fans make FINAL judgements FAR TOO SOON. Just wait awhile you fans. .
So Far Havertz has been subpar; very low energy and low intensity. The only impact has been negative.
Arteta continues to have a strong belief in Havertz which is his prerogative. However, at some point he has to choose between Havertz the individual, or Arsenal the team, if Havertz’s poor form continues.
Even a strong squad like ours cannot be successful if they are continually burdened with passengers.
i think kai is needed much time to adapt his new role at his new club dont compare him with any one the manager put his faith on him we have to be more patient like before so many arsenal great players adapting thier new life very slowly henry bergkamp etc and i hope kai would proved us wrong with time COYG enjoy u r weekend
What else can he say? He is not going to say ‘drop me’.
I think we will see the best of him when he builds up a connection with Jesus and Martinelli. He is the sort of player who thrives on being able to interchange positions during matches but that does not come quickly.
i think kai is needed much time to adapt his new role at his new club dont compare him with any one the manager put his faith on him we have to be more patient like before so many arsenal great players adapting thier new life very slowly henry bergkamp etc and i hope kai will proved us wrong with time COYG enjoy u r weekend
People often use examples of HENRY AND BERGKAMP as incorrect examples when claiming both took ages to settle properly That is not actully true though. Bergkamp was a widely accepted world class player, even before he arrived. He showed his class early on even though he did not score rely early on
Likewise Henry, who was however not regarded as a world beater when he arrived but as a promising new French internationalwinger who had starred in the 1998 French world cup win. Both were of obvious class right from the start with us, even though both had much still to show us, months later.
HAVERTZ is in a very different place and came with a distinctly underwhelming three PREM seasons just behind him at Chelsea, where even Chelsea fans were critical of him.
He was a shock buy and most Gooners, myself included, were amazed that MA paid £ 65 mill for him .
We will see what he does here but the portents are completely different from both Bergkamp and Henry when they arrived.
Just to correct that oft quoted myth.
I bet Haverz is relaxed, so would i on 320 big ones a week. I dont think we need relaxed, we need effort.
This signing was always going to a risky one for Arteta given the type of performances by Havertz since his time in the league. Some players just dont suit certain leagues and it seems the EPL is not for Havertz. Unfortunately, we are stuck with him for the foreseeable future, so Arteta must try to get some sort of use out of him. It’s so unfortunate given our history of having players on high wages that we cannot get rid of and it seems we are starting this scenario all over again. I wish I am wrong but his recent performances doesnt suggest so.