As a false 9 Havertz fell victim to Chelsea’s dysfunction – he is itching to drop deeper and could be superb in an instinctively creative team
Kai Havertz was an enigma from beginning to end at Chelsea. The silky German was never an easy player to judge and, although there can be no doubts over Havertz’s grace or technique, his inconsistency and the club’s struggle to identify his best position mean he arrives at Arsenal with questions hanging over his head.
This is a deal that comes with a dash of the unknown. There is an element of risk for Chelsea, who will feel immense regret if Havertz ends up being remembered alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah as a talent who thrived once he was in a more settled environment, but the gamble is not theirs alone. Even Havertz says his first season at Chelsea would have been a disaster had it not ended with him scoring the winner in the Champions League final against Manchester City two years ago. That goal changed a lot of the perceptions; take it away and chances are he would be regarded as yet another Bundesliga starlet unable to cut it in the Premier League.
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