Arteta: Havertz is five or ten seconds ahead of the game
Three league games, three starts, two goals. After two injury-hit seasons, Kai Havertz looks fit and confident again. With him leading the line, Arsenal’s attack has rediscovered much of its old fluidity.
When the German arrived from Chelsea in 2023, he was widely expected to operate as the left eight following Granit Xhaka’s departure. Over time, however, Mikel Arteta increasingly used him as a centre-forward, where his movement, intelligence and ability to link play brought the best out of those around him.
Having spent the best part of a year on the sidelines, Havertz occasionally dropped into midfield following his return during the second half of last season. His selection up front for May’s Champions League final, and throughout the opening weeks of the new campaign, suggests he remains Arteta’s preferred choice to lead the line when everyone is available.
Of course, such is the manager’s love of versatility; he’s not one to pigeonhole a player.
“The best position is in relation to what the game demands, and what the team demands on the day, to be as efficient as possible, as unpredictable as possible.
“Kai is extremely intelligent; that’s his biggest quality. He understands the game; he’s five, ten seconds ahead of the game; he knows what is happening, he doesn’t need to think about it, he just acts, and it just makes the people around him better, which is another massive quality.
“On top of that, he’s scoring goals, he’s producing chances, his work rate, as we all know, is just outstanding, and he’s in a great emotional state at the moment.”
Pressed on whether those qualities allow Havertz to perform several different roles, Arteta explained that a player’s starting position tells only a small part of the story.
“It can, yeah. Because you can play as a nine, but how do you play as a nine? What’s your role with the ball, without the ball? It’s a lot of things.
“A position on the pitch, when you put it on a tactics board, you put probably the nine in the centre, but then what do you do when there is a set-piece, when there is a transition moment, when you are in high press, the goalkeeper is right or left-footed? There are a lot of factors that are going to take that space and the initial position to a different dimension.”
Havertz’s impressive start has also been aided by the sparkling form of Martin Odegaard, who appears to have struck up an immediate rapport with summer signing Christos Tzolis.
Odegaard has scored four goals in five appearances, while Tzolis has registered four assists in the same period, three of them for his captain. Their movement has added another dimension to Arsenal’s attack, although Arteta wants to see more evidence before drawing firm conclusions.
“Hopefully those relationships are great between all the players, that’s what we try to develop,” said Arteta.
“There is certainly a start there and let’s see when we have a bigger example, how this develops, but it’s a really good sign.”
Arteta was also asked how much of Odegaard’s game intelligence is instinctive and how much has been shaped by coaching. As far as the manager is concerned, natural awareness still needs to be supported by a clear structure and a shared understanding between the players.
“Both, obviously,” replied the Spaniard. “First of all, the intentions you put in around the team, the roles, clarity, concepts and principles that you have to apply to be efficient. Because you can be there, but if the timing is not good, the momentum and the shift in position or the rotation is not good, there is no efficiency. That’s what we try to create with the players.”
Arsenal are regularly faced with opponents defending in a deep, compact block. In the past, that has sometimes resulted in horseshoe football, with the ball moved from side to side without enough penetration through the middle.
It is still early in the season, but there are signs of a more direct approach. With Myles Lewis-Skelly in the side and Bruno Guimaraes providing a new option, Arsenal’s midfielders, including Declan Rice, appear determined to move the ball forward more quickly and find their attacking players before the opposition can settle.
Asked how his midfield is helping the attack, Arteta said: “It depends on our players; it depends for sure on the behaviour of the opponent, what kind of attitude they have, especially in different phases of play.
“In relation to that, try to have the quality of our players to be as vertical as possible, as progressive as possible, and to put the best players in the best possible scenarios as often as we can.”
The post Arteta: Havertz is five or ten seconds ahead of the game appeared first on Arseblog News - the Arsenal news site.