Mikel Arteta told Arsenal ace is now ‘like a new signing’ after ‘very poor’ start

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Arsenal summer signing Kai Havertz had a difficult start to his career in North London, but is now thriving under Mikel Arteta.

The German arrived for a huge fee from Chelsea, but initially struggled in both midfield and upfront, with both the player and Arteta receiving heavy criticism for his performances, whilst many questioned the signing given his difficulties at Chelsea over the years.

Havertz failed to score from open play in his first 12 games, whilst he delivered overall lacklustre performances, struggling to replace the defensive and attacking output provided by his predecessor Granit Xhaka.

With four goals in his last seven games across all competitions, he is beginning to find his feet, and following his strike against Brighton on Saturday, he has now been praised.

Michael Owen praises Kai Havertz improvement

Speaking on Premier League Productions (17/12/2023, 4.05pm), former England striker Michael Owen stated that Havertz had made a dramatic improvement from his terrible start at Arsenal.

“Havertz is coming into a little bit of form now. That could be nice if he could continue this and grow into a more of a permanent fixture and a confident player,” he stated.

“I know the old saying ‘he is a new signing’. But he has been very, very poor since he has been at the club.

“But all of a sudden, he is showing signs of a bit of promise.”

How has Kai Havertz improved since the start of the season?

After a few games, big question marks were hanging over Havertz’s head as he continually dropped poor performances.

His confidence was on the floor from the minute he arrived as a result of his struggles at Chelsea, and this was reflected in his play, as he failed to register a single shot on his target in the first 12 games of his Arsenal career.

He has now scored with all three since, but his shot volume has also increased dramatically. With his increased confidence he is now shooting more, as he fired in 12 shots in his first 12 matches, and has since fired in 11 in the last five.

He has also created more in recent weeks. He has registered 11 shot-creating actions in his last four games. It took him nine games to match this total at the start of the season.

His goal against Brighton was well taken, and he celebrated passionately, which was a far cry from his timid celebration after his penalty against Bournemouth, which was his first strike for the club whilst he was low on confidence.

There is still some way to go before he can justify the large fee spent on him, but there have been very promising signs in recent weeks and he will hope to continue this form.