Gooners may have to trust Kai Havertz to lead Arsenal to success. Arsenal’s quest for a striker is proving more difficult than planned. The transfer links to Ivan Toney and Viktor Gyokeres cooled, and it’s surprising that Benjamin Sesko, a big target, chose to stay at RB Leipzig, while Alexander Isak, another target, hinted that he would choose to stay at St. James Park.
Some are not sure that Havertz, who scored and assisted 15 goals in the final 14 league games of last season, is not the right guy to lead Arsenal’s attack. Here are some reasons to trust Havertz to lead Arsenal’s attack next season:
– Havertz is already settled into the team and has learned Arteta’s tactics
– Havertz is versatile; he’s able to play almost any position in midfield and attack, so whichever situation or position he finds himself in on the pitch, he’ll always have a way out. He can comfortably receive the ball in both the wing corridor and the midfield area.
– He possesses the top ability to move without the ball. He can comfortably drop deep.
– He’s almost immune to injury or having to stop playing, and he has great physical attributes (ideal height) to go to combat for Arsenal.
– He’s not afraid to participate in disputes and collisions, which can have a strong impact on fixed situations and air combat.
– He possesses a unique spirit and personality, an element lacking in the Arsenal squad.
– He shines in big games or key moments of the match.
– He’ll be leading the German Euros attack, which will continue to give him confidence and sharpen him to be the striker he ought to be.
– His finishing gets better and better as his confidence increases.
– He changed Arsenal’s summer transfer plan because, compared to the goal scorers available in the transfer market, he is still the person who best fits all of coach Mikel Arteta’s requirements for the role of No. 9 at this time.
What do you think? What did I forget?
Sam P
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With Sesko gone, I’d turn my attention to Gyökeres. Amazing debut season, experienced in the physicality of the English football.
Given that the fee won’t exceed £60-65 million, I’d go for him.
I like Osimhen but I don’t like the fact that hes quoted at 100 million with his injury record and quite underwhelming last season.
Oh and I think Biereth should replace Nketiah on the squad. Give playing time here and there, train with the first team the whole season. He played well in the Scottish league and in the Austrian league and I think it’s time to move on from Eddie.
i don’t think there is any doubt that Arteta/Edu see Havertz leading the line next season – Arteta, his team mates, nearly every pundit absolutely love – strangely it is only some Arsenal fans who don’t
that being the case where does the new striker fit in because it seems they will not be starter, they will spend most of their time on the bench initially – Osihmen and Gyrokeres don’t strike me as those types of players
hence perhaps why Arteta/Edu looked at a young player who can grow and develop in to the team and role, e.g. Sesko
however, while i agree Havertz will be our primary centre forward next season, i do see the case for more goal scoring power in the squad, an upgrade on Jesus and Nketiah when we need to change it up mid-game or otherwise rotate, Trossard arguably the next best, but what they all have in common is a lack of height and headed goal threat
hence why again the 6 foot 5 inch Sesko perhaps on the radar, but gone so need to move
so still agree on a goal scoring addition, but the profile required is very rare and availability rarer
an earlier article suggested Berieth, and I must say compared to other option available he looks promising, especially for zero money
it’s strange because if wasn’t already an Arsenal player then I am sure a striker of Berieth’s profile would be linked with a big money move to Arsenal, but a bit like Balogun last summer we seem to ignore them as little more than a saleable asset
Most of these points could be attributed to any player in the squad for their role, and very little explain why Havertz should specifically be first choice.
Havertz did a good job in the end, but a striker who puts away more chances would be a huge game changer, especially in big games. It’s not about pushing KH out but rather have someone who can come in and match or increase the quality, OR offer a different skillset. Personally, I’d plan on getting Sesko next year and look toward a short term cheaper option who we could resell next summer. Who that is, I have no idea. With Sesko, Zubimendi, Luiz, Hato, and a few others either ruled out or looking that way our promising summer is starting to look a little less convincing. I just hope there’s no panic buys or ‘experiments’ as all we need is a 5% overall increase in quality and ability and we may just have enough to edge City next season. We can’t risk any back stepping.
Our priority is to add to the squad that will help to improve our quality and performances and win trophies next season. If that be the case, we will definitely need a proven centre forward with the guarantee of 15-20 goals next season. Because other teams have also upgraded and ready to fight for top 4 in the premiership. For me, any player that is not good to start in any position at Man city should not be good for us. They are ahead of us in almost all the departments for now. Go for the best like Real Madrid and the bench like Man city, then we are ready to compete for all available trophies.
He’s brimming with confidence ATM. They wouldn’t/shouldn’t hinder his development at this crucial time. We have not seen the best of him yet. I’m pretty sure he’ll be the answer for the striker issue the club has been long looking for. Based on his form from mid February he can easily do 20-30 goals contribution a season. He’ll be afc’s ”raumdeuter” like Thomas Mueller been doing with Bayern. We have more than enough cover for that position in Jesus, Biereth, or any academy player. Buying a winger to cover both flanks would make more sense. No need a big signing for a st period. Top DM/mc should be the priority. Lb (Ferdi Kadioglu would be very good) if both Zinchenko and Tierney sold. But we have more than enough players to cover the position especially Timber is back in the squad now.
If players like nketiah, nelson, smith rowe, veira, lokoga, tavares, tierney can be moved on then let get mitoma as left wing bakayoko as right wing brahim diaz competing with odegard and he is versatile, sign xavi simon on loan with option to buy. With this attackin mildfieders and wingers our strikers will score a lot of goal.
Why is Arsenal not being linked with Serhou Guirrasy?
Perfect for our system and relatively cheap
It won’t be the end of the world if Arsenal fail to sign a striker this summer, imo, especially if they get a quality winger to push Saka and improve the fire power upfront.
In addition to the winger, some good investment in the midfield and at the back would deepen the quality of the squad in readiness for the challenges of the new season
Like many of our players, Havertz performs well only when the team is functioning effectively and Arteta’s plan is working. I wish we had a forward who could rescue us when the team is struggling and the game plan fails. Odegaard has shown he can be relied upon in such situations. Saka used to fill that role, but either he was overplayed and tired, or the tactics are constraining his game and freedom (similar to Martinelli). If we bring in a new forward who can turn games around, along with Odegaard and hopefully a goalkeeper who can make crucial saves when needed, then we’ll have a complete team capable of challenging city115, as @Ken calls them 😂, for the title. If Havertz and Raya can step up to become those crucial players, great. Else, we need a new top striker and top goalkeeper.
Modern football is so systematic and less relied on individual brilliance compared to the football of the past, that when the system fails literally every player suffers equally more or less. When you are talking about players who can bail out a team when the tactics go wrong, you are literally talking aboit players of the calibre such as Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Zidane, and such. So I don’t think Arsenal can rely on one person to bail out the team all the time, instead Arteta would be looking for players that make his tactics work better and less prone to failure. When tactics get right and the system works, Arsenal have performed superbly. And in the cases when tactics fail, we need players that can make an alternative tactics work. I think from the starting XI aspect, the only position we need a good signing right now is the CDM. For the rest of the signings, that would be about increasing the quality of the bench and squad players to allow for better rotation and match management with minimal drop in quality and tactics.
too well thought through and intelligent a comment
you are right, the starting XI for the first PL match next season will be exactly the same as Arsenal lined up in our successful run at the end of last season – the only change is if we sign a top quality CDM (as you say)
new striker talk ignores the fact that Havertz starts and the new striker is on the bench
new striker talk of Arteta re-jigging his system to accomodate a new striker is also not happening
like the new striker, other summer incomings will also start on the bench
make no mistake we need a stronger bench, Arteta’s lack of rotation was partly because the quality was not there
Arsenal were also incredibly lucky with injuries last season – our absolute key irreplaceables were largely injury free, e.g. Odegaard, Saka, Rice, Saliba
a long term injury to anyone of these would have left us much more than 1 point behind Man C
so along with CDM, these are squad depth positions I would be focusing on in this transfer window
It’s worrisome that the many fans don’t seem to understand that rotating a squad is no longer concerned with giving minutes to the squad players and academy graduates, at least for the teams who want to win trophies consistently. It’s only concerned with changing tactics within the game, as a reaction task force to achieve a goal, and that is to win the match. If the squad players don’t fit that criterion, you don’t just bring players on the pitch which are not guaranteed to affect the game positively enough to get the results.
Bring in Tchoumeni or Guimaraes and we are done.
Speaking of Havertz, you gave 10 reasons, but to me, sticking with Havertz is a no brainer to me. He is the most unique striker profile in the modern football, and what makes him among the first ones to be picked up in the starting lineup is his consistent availability and injury resistance. So, yeah Arsenal attack tactics should be build around him as that will lead to more chemistry in the team, as Havertz almost always is available to play. He is like Xhaka in that regard.
And he has shown that he can score 20-30 goals a season easily going by his stats last season playing as an striker. And he is very young still, not even at his peak by any means.
So it’s a no brainer to me really that he should spearhead our attack next season.