It’s been a gruelling start to the season for Arsenal this year.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had to play Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur away in the Premier League, as well as Atalanta and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Yet, with all those games behind them, the Gunners are level on points with City in the league and are, thanks to a draw in Italy and an emphatic victory last night, undefeated in Europe.
There have been several star performers for the Spaniard so far this season, but one player who has carried on his immaculate form from last year is Kai Havertz. However, there was a chance the club might not have signed him last summer had they secured the services of another star they were interested in.
Havertz's recent form
Havertz didn’t have the easiest start to life as an Arsenal player last season. For around two-thirds of the campaign, Arteta insisted on playing him in the left-eight role, and while he wasn’t dreadful there, he also wasn’t particularly effective.
However, in early February, the Spaniard moved him to the centre-forward position, and almost instantly, he went from being a somewhat useful player to one of the first names on the team sheet.
For example, in his 32 games as a midfielder, he scored a paltry six goals, whereas, in his 18 games as a striker, he scored eight goals and provided seven assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.20 games as a number nine.
Appearances
33
25
Goals
6
12
Assists
0
8
Goal Involvements per Match
0.18
0.80
The good news is that the former Chelsea ace has maintained his impressive form this season, and as things stand, he has scored five goals and provided one assist in nine appearances, equating to a goal involvement on average every 1.5 games.
Moreover, the Aachen-born marksman has been on fire at home, and should he score against Southampton on the weekend, he will match Robin van Persie’s record of scoring in seven home games on the bounce – talk about esteemed company.
Overall, while his transfer initially raised more than a few eyebrows, Havertz has more than proved his worth at Arsenal and has become an essential part of Arteta’s incredible title-chasing team. However, considering the player they were interested in before they signed him last year, there is a world in which the German never moved to North London.
Arsenal wanted to sign İlkay Gündoğan
Yes, for those who weren’t aware, Arsenal were interested in signing City icon and fellow German international İlkay Gündoğan before they bought Havertz last summer.
According to a report from the Guardian in May 2023, the Gunners were very keen on securing the vastly experienced star for free following the expiration of his contract at the Etihad.
The report claimed that upon entering the race for his signature, the North Londoners were hopeful that the prospect of working with Arteta again would tempt the midfield superstar to move down south, but as we all know, that didn’t happen, and instead, he joined Spanish giants Barcelona on a two-year deal.
The former Borussia Dortmund star instantly became an essential player for the Blaugrana and, by the end of the season, had made 51 appearances for them, scoring five goals and providing 14 assists.
However, it wasn’t necessarily the happiest of marriages. After several public outbursts and talk over his salary being a problem, his stay was cut short, and he made his way back to Manchester to sign a mammoth £230k-per-week one-year deal.
There is no doubt that had the Gunners signed the Champions League winner last season, their midfield would have reached another level, but due to his wage demands and the amount of game time he would have wanted, that could have seen the club pass over Havertz, as for most of last season it was clear that Arteta wanted to play him in midfield.
Ultimately, we’ll never know if Arsenal would have played the pair of them together, but given their respective ages and the incredible form Havertz has been in over the last nine months, we think Arsenal got the right German international.
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