Graeme Souness has now wished Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ‘good luck’ trying to get more out of Kai Havertz than he ever showed with Chelsea following his transfer.
The 24-year-old left west London for north in June after spending three seasons at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea agreed to sell Havertz to Arsenal after he entered into the final two years of his contract. His move to Emirates Stadium also let the Blues recoup most of what they paid.
Chelsea bet big to bring Havertz to the Premier League in September 2020 after impressing in the Bundesliga. The German excelled at Bayer Leverkusen with 46 goals and 31 assists in 150 appearances to secure a £71m transfer. But he could not replicate that work in England.
Havertz is yet to get going at Arsenal since leaving Chelsea
Havertz only offered 32 goals and 15 assists in 139 appearances during his time at Chelsea. The 39-cap Mannschaft maestro further only offered 19 of his goals and 10 assists over 91 Premier League appearances. But Arsenal paid £62.5m, rising to £67.5m, to agree his move.
Arteta has given Havertz a leading role at Emirates Stadium, as well, with seven appearances from seven games. He has also started the German in six of the Gunners’ matches, including in their return to the Champions League after six years away at home to PSV on Wednesday.
Yet, despite slotting straight into the Arsenal line-up after sealing the role that Granit Xhaka occupied, Havertz is still to score or lay on a single assist since leaving Chelsea. He has even also wasted his best chances to hit the back of a net in the rare chances he has had to score.
Souness remains astounded at the fee Arsenal paid
Arteta will hope Havertz can build up his confidence to offer Arsenal a goal threat after their deal with Chelsea. The German can be a big-match goalscorer, as the Blues saw when he hit the only effort in the 2020/21 Champions League final to beat Manchester City 1-0 in Porto.
Souness, though, believes Arteta will need a lot of luck to coax more from Havertz at Arsenal than Chelsea could. He also remains astounded that the Gunners spent the amount they did for his signature. The Gunners also gave Havertz a five-year contract worth £280k-a-week.
“Not all of Arsenal’s spending makes sense to me,” Souness wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “They’ve laid out £65m on Kai Havertz. Surely you’re not spending that kind of money on what he’s shown at Chelsea in the past three seasons?
“They’ve shelled out in the hope that Mikel Arteta can get a very, very different tune out of him than Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel or Graham Potter ever did. Good luck with that one, Mikel.”
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