Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton now expects one Arsenal star who he criticised earlier this season to play a pivotal role in the Gunners’ Premier League title push.
Kai Havertz looks to have hit top form at the perfect time for Arsenal.
The German attacker is on a hot streak right now. Havertz has just scored in four consecutive Premier League games for the first time in his career. He is excelling in the false-nine role he took up in the team after Gabriel Jesus succumbed to injury, and there is now a strong argument that he ought to be considered the Gunners’ first-choice striker.
Havertz also has a habit of scoring big goals at big moments in big matches. The most recent example of this came against Brentford last time out, when he met with Ben White’s cross in the 86th minute to power a header into the back of the net from close range. This strike snatched a win for Mikel Arteta’s side, sending Arsenal back to pole position in the Premier League table for the first time since Christmas. It also marked the second time this season that Havertz had been able to bag a late winner against the Bees.
It took the 25-year-old some time to find his feet at the Emirates Stadium following his arrival from Chelsea in the recent summer transfer window. He was clearly short on confidence, and Chris Sutton even described him as looking “broken” in the first half of the season, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
Kai Havertz hailed for Arsenal transformation
Havertz has been lauded in recent weeks though, and his unique attributes are helping him to stand out at Arsenal. His physicality, aerial prowess, and pressing ability have made him an important fixture in Arteta’s team.
Even Sutton has now changed his tune when it comes to the Germany international. Speaking on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast, the pundit said, “this season has been a remarkable story for him. Everybody talks about Declan Rice, but he has been really, really prominent the longer the season has gone on. Massive goal at the weekend, and I think there was just, when he first signed for Arsenal, there was just a general feeling from a lot of people that it’s not going to work and that he’s a poor signing. Arteta, in fairness to him, had total belief in him…I’ve been mightily impressed.”
The player now needs to keep his current form going. Arsenal legend Ian Wright has called Havertz a big game player, and the club have some huge matches coming up. Even this evening, the Gunners will be contesting the second-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Porto. Next time out in the Premier League they will be up against reigning champions Manchester City. Arteta will be looking to Havertz to make an impact in these matches.
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