Kai Havertz must be breathing a sigh of relief that he left Chelsea for Arsenal in the summer because it is proving to be a masterstroke of a transfer.
Arsenal are pushing for the Premier League title and they are still in the Champions League.
Across London, their rivals are aiming to secure a Europa Conference League spot after Mauricio Pochettino’s side beat Newcastle United 3-2 on Monday night.
When Kai Havertz was at Chelsea, Darren Bent claimed that he was ‘criticised a lot’, but now he is in a much ‘stable environment’, hence his recent performances.
The former striker even suggested that the German international wasn’t even trusted by his teammates at Stamford Bridge because, under Mikel Arteta, ‘he is now starting to play with teammates that trust him’, as he told Premier League Productions (11/03/24 at 2:30 pm).
Kai Havertz has scored in four consecutive Premier League matches for his title-chasing team, including a late winner against Brentford over the weekend.
Darren Bent thinks the 24-year-old is now starting to come into his own and prove that he is a ‘top, top player’ for Arsenal.
Kai Havertz from Chelsea to Arsenal
“A lot of credit goes to Mikel Arteta,” said Bent. “A lot of people questioned the decision to sign him for such big money, but he is coming good.
“You can see he is a good football player. It’s where you play him. I like him as a false nine. I would rather have him than Gabriel Jesus. He is better in that air than people give him credit for – fair play to him, he took a lot of criticism over the years, but he is starting to come good.
“It’s also about being in a stable environment. Chelsea was a bit of a mess – towards the end it was a mess, you didn’t know who was in charge and what was going on.
“He has gone to Arsenal, which is stable, Mikel Arteta looks like he is going to be there for a long time. He probably feels a lot more relaxed in himself. He probably feels more settled and now he is starting to play with teammates that trust him as well.
“At Chelsea, you just didn’t know. I felt he was getting criticised a lot. Maybe not even his own fault, but now at Arsenal, everyone seems to be buying into it. He has taken time to win the fans over, but now you can see, you put him in a stable environment, he is a top, top player.”
Massive ten games coming up for Arsenal
Attention will now turn to Champions League action where Arsenal will be looking to overturn a 1-0 1st leg deficit against Porto.
If they can see off that, then the team will have the rest of the week off, before heading off to the international break, because they won’t be in Premier League action.
The FA Cup takes over, and with Arsenal already knocked out, it provides them with a chance to rest and return back at the end of the month for the big one.
Arsenal will travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City in a blockbuster game at the top of the table.
If Havertz shows up here and guides his team to a win, then it will really elevate his status, not just with the Arsenal fans, but in the Premier League also.
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