Kai Havertz has turned his reputation around to become a popular player at Arsenal, having initially struggled when he joined from Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta raised eyebrows when he spent £65m to sign Havertz from Chelsea, given that the German mostly struggled at Stamford Bridge.
Havertz took some time to settle, but has thrived since he was moved to a centre-forward position in January, and is defying the critics he earned at both Chelsea and Arsenal.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge this week saw the striker hit the back of the net with a smart finish, which was later ruled out for offside, but Havertz still had time to celebrate by shushing the Chelsea fans.
Havertz’s actions have now been criticised by former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who claimed that he should have not celebrated at his old club.
Asmir Begovic slams Kai Havertz for Arsenal celebration at Chelsea
Speaking on The Byline Podcast, Begovic, who left Chelsea before Havertz joined, claimed he could not understand why Havertz celebrated with such bitterness towards his old club.
“It was odd. It’s just amusing. I don’t get it from Kai’s point of view, he won the Champions League with Chelsea, so why are there bitter feelings? Begovic stated.
“I think it’s safe to say, if he’s honest with himself, he could have done better at certain times. A lot of money was paid for him to come over, but at the same time he achieved so many great things.
“I’m not sure of the hostility towards Chelsea fans one bit, I think he moved onto Arsenal and there we go.
“There must be some stuff behind the scenes that we don’t know about. There was no need to do it, maybe he was trying to please the Arsenal fans. Just score your goal and get on with it.”
Kai Havertz was justified in celebrating against Chelsea
When Havertz left Chelsea, he was devoid of confidence after three difficult years at Stamford Bridge.
He scored the winner for them in the Champions League final, but Havertz is still derided by a lot of Chelsea fans, and his self-belief was shot to pieces when Arsenal decided to take a chance on him.
Havertz has since claimed that winning with Arsenal would mean more than his trophies with Chelsea, and it is clear that he is much happier now than he was in West London.
It took a lot of time for Arteta to get Havertz firing, but the German is now loving life at the Emirates, and his brace against Chelsea in a 5-0 win last season would have been particularly satisfying.
This 1-1 draw was Havertz’s first start at Chelsea since he left, and he was subjected to jeers from sections of the home support. When he thought he had scored, he had every right to celebrate in the manner he did.
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