Following Arsenal’s dramatic late win against FC Porto last night, Kai Havertz almost matched a record set by Shkodran Mustafi in the past.
Probably not the sentence Arsenal fans will have been expecting to read this morning, it’s not too often Mustafi’s name is mentioned these days.
Mustafi, who left Arsenal in 2021 to join FC Schalke, is now without a club at 31-years-old having left Levante at the end of last season.
The German defender had a mixed time at the Emirates, proving his rich ability but also his tendency to lose concentration.
That being said, Mustafi did leave Arsenal with one record for most aerial duels won in a single game.
Against Vitoria Guimaraes in the Europa League in 2019, Mustafi won 11 of his 12 aerial duels, setting a new record at the club.
And given the amount of contests there were against Porto last night, Kai Havertz ever so nearly matched Mustafi’s total at Arsenal.
According to Harvey Downes who shared the stat on X, Havertz won 10 of his 13 aerial duels last night.
Kai Havertz nearly matched remarkable Shkodran Mustafi record for Arsenal last night
Although Havertz didn’t quite match or break the record, it still is a remarkable feat given he is a forward.
You might expect that Mustafi would have been involved in a fair few aerial contests as a centre-back at Arsenal, but Havertz was doing this as a striker.
It’s incredibly impressive, and it does prove how much of a physical presence Havertz now offers Arsenal whether he’s playing as a number nine or an eight.
Data analyst Downes did also prove a bonus stat on top of the one mentioned above.
Having won 10 aerial duels, Havertz’s total was also the most by an Arsenal forward in a European game since Yaya Sanogo vs Bayern Munich back in 2014 (10).
Two real blasts from the past, and perhaps two players who also delineate how far today’s squad has come in terms of quality.
No disrespect to the names mentioned, but Arsenal do now have a wealth of talent, as demonstrated by Mikel Arteta’s ability to turn to Gabriel Jesus at the Emirates last night.
All that being said, Arteta is said to be willing to sell one of the player he introduced last night.
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