Cesc Fabregas has shared how Kai Havertz now reminds him of himself as the Arsenal star continues to silence his doubters with his performances for Mikel Arteta’s side.
It has been a remarkable season for Kai Havertz, with many stunned that the Gunners decided to sign the Chelsea man in the first place off the back of a difficult time at Stamford Bridge.
And Havertz took some time to get going, with his winner against Brentford in November coming at a time when Mikel Arteta had started to leave him on the bench at the start of games.
That goal at the Gtech Community Stadium proved to be a bit of a turning point for Havertz, with the 24-year-old going on to score 11 times in the Premier League as Arsenal continue to fight for the title.
Another crucial change has come with Havertz being given the chance to play up front after initially struggling in the number eight position vacated by Granit Xhaka in the summer.
Cesc Fabregas says Kai Havertz reminds him of himself
The Germany international has stamped his authority on the role ahead of Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. There are still some doubts over whether Havertz is going to be the prolific goalscorer Arsenal fans may dream of having leading the line.
But he did score twice against Chelsea on Tuesday; proving that he does so many good things for this Arsenal side.
And speaking on Planet Premier League, Cesc Fabregas has suggested that Arsenal appear to have unlocked Havertz’s potential with the role he is currently playing.
“I don’t like to talk about me, but he reminds me a little bit of me in Barcelona as well, because I used to play these two roles that he plays in a false nine in a way, and a number eight, and I know exactly what it feels like. It’s good because he feels now an important player for the team, but at the same time, you don’t really know where you’re going to play the next game. It kind of confuses you, it’s better sometimes to stick to one place and get the best out of it,” he said.
“But now Partey’s back which is great news for Arsenal; then Rice will go a little bit as a number eight, so his place I think will be the number nine spot, and I think it suits him very well for the way Arsenal want to play.
“I really like it because he has very good link-up play. He attacks the space, as we saw yesterday he can score goals, he has good timing of his runs. He plays simple, he doesn’t try to make too many tricks or difficult things, he does what he has to do. He’s very simple in that, very basic, and that’s what makes him good.”
Why Arsenal star will never escape criticism for long
Havertz looks like one of those players who is always likely to attract criticism for one reason or another, due to what appears to be a languid playing style and the fact that he is not a prolific goalscorer.
He had scored one goal in his previous seven appearances before the 5-0 win over Chelsea.
But Arteta has clearly decided, this season at least, that Havertz’s build-up play and reasonable strike-rate gives Arsenal more than if they had a more ruthless goalscorer in the number nine role.
As Fabregas knows better than most, that choice can reap rewards.
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