Adrian Clarke looks at summer signings and what impact they will have at their new clubs.
Player analysis: Kai Havertz (ARS)
Arsenal's new signing is a gifted, multi-purpose footballer with the skillset to thrive under Mikel Arteta.
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Havertz, 24, is vastly experienced at club and international level, but his versatility will be an equally attractive proposition to the Arsenal boss.
"He [Havertz] has great versatility and is an intelligent player," said Arteta after the signing was confirmed.
Capable of playing anywhere across the forward line, as a central No 10, or an attacking box-to-box midfielder, Havertz will slot comfortably into Arteta’s fluid tactical framework.
The Arsenal boss has suggested that he sees the German primarily in midfield.
"He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play." Arteta added.
Aerial presence
Arsenal scored an incredible 88 Premier League goals last season, but only 12 of them were headers.
A lack of height in attacking areas limited their ability to produce aerial opportunities. In fact, Arsenal had only 65 headed efforts, excluding blocks, ranking them 16th in the league.
22/23 top-six teams' shots
| Club | Shots* | Headed shots | % Headed shots |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCI | 434 | 82 | 18.9% |
| ARS | 409 | 65 | 15.9% |
| MUN | 427 | 66 | 15.5% |
| NEW | 402 | 107 | 26.6% |
| LIV | 440 | 85 | 19.3% |
| BHA | 450 | 88 | 19.6% |
*including blocks
At 6ft 2in, Havertz is very good in the air, scoring three of his seven league goals last season from headers. Overall, 10 of his 32 goals for Chelsea in all competitions arrived in that manner.
He attacks space inside the box intelligently and has excellent timing when looking to get on the end of crosses.
The German’s presence will certainly encourage a greater variety of Arsenal crosses.
Havertz also wins a tremendous number of aerial duels, ranking third among Premier League attackers last season.
His strength in the air will improve Arsenal inside both boxes.
Leading aerial threats 2022/23
| Most headed shots | Aerial duels won | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitrovic | 35 | Toney | 109 |
| Kane | 31 | Mitrovic | 100 |
| Haaland | 27 | Havertz | 79 |
| Havertz | 24 | Watkins | 70 |
High intensity
Arteta demands high levels of intensity, in and out of possession, and this will not be a problem for Havertz.
Conor Gallagher was the only Chelsea player to make more pressures per 90 than Havertz's average of 26.7 last season.
He also won possession 21 times inside the final third, more often than any other Blues player.
Whether he starts in a box-to-box midfield role or further forward, Havertz would be expected to push on and close down defenders in a shape that changes into 4-4-2 when Arsenal press.
Captain Martin Odegaard will provide the perfect template for what is required as he was the league’s most effective presser, regaining the ball inside the final third 49 times.
Clever movement
When Arsenal have possession, Havertz is guaranteed to offer quality movement.
As the stats below outline, he is one of the best around when it comes to making attacking runs that stretch opposition defences.
At Chelsea, a side lacking in creativity for much of last season, his runs were targeted by 377 passes, the second-most in the Premier League.
Havertz's runs in 2022/23
| Total | PL rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | 1011 | 2nd |
| Attacking runs | 876 | 3rd |
| Runs challenging backline | 332 | 5th |
| Runs targeted by pass | 377 | 2nd |
This is a sign that his spatial awareness was excellent, and that his decision-making was smart.
His sublime run and finish in March's 3-1 win at Leicester City typifies his class and awareness.
Havertz's goal v Leicester
Your Chelsea GOTM for March. 👏 pic.twitter.com/gH2n3WHV38
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 2, 2023
Playing in a confident Arsenal team built around swift passing exchanges and clever interchangeable movement, we could see these figures soar in 2023/24.
His intelligent run-making could also elevate Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to even greater levels.
From an individual perspective, Havertz will just want to sharpen up his finishing when his movement presents opportunities to score.
He underperformed his Expected Goals (xG) metric by 4.8, the biggest negative differential in the league.
Rotating with Jesus
It is understood that Arteta would be comfortable playing Havertz on the left side of his midfield in a 4-3-3.
With Oleksandr Zinchenko inverting into central midfield to form a double-pivot in possession, Arsenal’s two wider central midfielders, Odegaard and possibly Havertz, can push on high to form a shape that resembles a 3-2-5.
From there, Arteta likes his forward players to freely interchange and combine, which should suit Havertz’s desire to operate in half-spaces or make runs in beyond the last man.
Chelsea's top creators 2022/23
| Shots on target | Chances created in open play | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Havertz | 33 | Havertz | 37 |
| Sterling | 18 | Sterling | 34 |
| Joao Felix | 16 | Kovacic | 23 |
Out of possession, when the team retreat it, Havertz would potentially operate deeper than he is used to.
However, with Bayer Leverkusen he did make several appearances as an orthodox central midfielder, so this would not be totally alien to him.
Havertz, who spent 65 per cent of his total minutes playing as a striker for Chelsea, could also rotate with Jesus as the spearhead of Arsenal’s attack.
With UEFA Champions League football a part of Arsenal's schedule, this will be a valuable option for Arteta, who will not want to burn out his first-choice forward Jesus.
