THE SPATIAL ONE
How Mikel Arteta has unlocked the potential in Kai Havertz and turned transfer flop into Arsenal’s gamechanger
Havertz has even played in an unorthodox role for his country
ARSENAL'S decision to spend £75million on Kai Havertz was met with surprise and derision by other Premier League fans.
German international Havertz, 24, was regarded as a flop at Chelsea having failed to look comfortable as a No9.
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But have Arsenal overpaid for Havertz?
He is a German international with 42 caps and 14 goals, and scored the winner for Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final.
He is also a versatile attacking player having played as a No8, No10 and No9.
It was assumed Mikel Arteta had planned to play Havertz in midfield to add physicality and attacking quality.
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In recent weeks, though, we have seen the German come into his own for Arsenal leading the line.
In fact, Havertz is developing as the perfect No9 for the way Arsenal want to play.
Here are some of the key tactical reasons he is performing so well.
Movement
When Havertz was at Bayer Leverkusen - before he signed for Chelsea - he typically played as a No10 or second striker.
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His movement and ability to find and exploit space in the final third was one of his biggest strengths.
He had freedom to roam around the final third and receive the ball in space in the channels, get his head up and create.
This movement made Havertz extremely difficult to defend against as defenders were regularly pulled out of position.
When Havertz initially moved to Arsenal from Chelsea, whether he played in midfield or up front, the German struggled to find and use pockets of space effectively.
There was a sense that he was low on confidence following his bruising Blues spell and played within himself, keeping things simple.
While there is not necessarily anything wrong with that, this was not a style of play that played to Havertz's strengths.
In recent weeks, however, we have seen him start to roam more often as he drops in and out of positions around the final third.
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Earlier in the season there was an argument that Arsenal were almost too structured in possession.
They were very strong defensively and guarded against counter attacks but they lacked an attacking spark.
As a result, they were not scoring as many goals as they had been the previous year.
For a long time this season, their main attacking threat has been Gabriel Martinelli or Bukayo Saka 1v1 against their direct opponent.
Now, Arteta is using Havertz to drag opposition defenders out of shape.
This then, in turn, creates space that his team-mates can use further up the pitch.
By using Havertz in this way, Arteta is getting the same kind of performances that we saw from the forward while he was at Leverkusen.
Arteta appears to have found a way to retain Arsenal’s defensive solidity while creating more threat in the attack.
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Movement in the area
Now that Arteta has started to use Havertz again as a striker, his movement in the area has made him more of a goal threat.
When Gabriel Jesus is the No9, he tends to drop deep which sometimes means Arsenal have no players in the opposition box.
Havertz, on the other hand, is extremely intelligent with the way that he moves off defenders in order to find space to attack crosses into the penalty area.
Havertz likes to play either directly on the shoulder of a defender or between two centre-halves.
He waits for a defender to focus on the ball - then goes.
Havertz often produces one quick run before adjusting his run to attack a different angle and meet the ball.
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Having a central striker who can act as a focal point and effectively pin the opposition central defenders in place is extremely important for a top team.
If your striker is constantly dropping out or coming wide then the central defenders have an easier game as they have time and space to organise themselves.
Arteta trusts Havertz to drop out and be mobile in the initial stages of the Arsenal attack, but also to position himself as a focal point and occupy the central defenders when the Gunners reach the final third.
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At Chelsea, we never saw this effective version of Havertz as they struggled to create opportunities to cross and enter the penalty area from wide areas.
Now Arteta is trusting Havertz to act as essentially the key player in their attack.
Linking play
We have already discussed how important it is for top teams to have a forward player who can act as a focal point for their attack.
What has made Havertz even more effective in recent weeks, though, has been his ability to play with his back to goal and give his team a platform to get into the final third.
Havertz is 6ft4in and at his best mixes physicality with supreme technical ability.
This means when he is playing as the central striker he can receive the ball effectively under pressure and quickly lay it off with one or two touches which bring other players into the game.
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Having a player like Havertz, who is able to receive in tight areas and quickly bring others into the game means Arteta can build the play at the tempo he wants while maintaining compactness.
Arteta seems to have found a way to use Havertz to not only play to his strengths but to unlock aspects of his game that made him one of the most highly rated young players in Germany.
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Conclusion
If Arsenal are going to be successful in pipping Liverpool and Manchester City to the Premier League title then the new role handed to Havertz will have been key.
Arteta has shown that he trusts the German to lead the line - and his profile appears to be perfect as he links everything together.
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