Kai Havertz vs Roberto Firmino: The stats are scarily similar after Neville and Carragher debate
Kai Havertz was the man for Arsenal again this weekend as he scored yet another goal but the big debate came before the game with some comparisons to Roberto Firmino.
Speaking prior to kick off, Gary Neville was trying to analyse Firmino and Havertz and drew comparisons between the duo before having a dig at Jamie Carragher.
“I think having Havertz up front means the centre-backs can afford to edge over to his side a little bit more, because Havertz is a good player, he’s a very good performer, but he’s not going to frighten the life out of you,” Neville said.
With Carragher then suggesting it never stopped Mo Salah, Neville then hit back.
“No, no, no. Please, don’t disrespect Firmino in terms of what a player he was by the way. I don’t think Havertz is as good as Firmino in any way, shape, or form,” Neville then added when pressed by Carragher about the similarities.
The debate has caused quite the stir but when we look at the actual stats comparison, there is little between the two.
Kai Havertz and Roberto Firmino’s stats compared
To quell any sense of favoritism, both of these players are superb at what they do. Firmino was a pioneer of the ‘false 9’, while Havertz has been crucial for both Chelsea and Arsenal.
Interestingly, when we look at the stats in terms of the output they bring to the table, they are strikingly similar.
In terms of goals per game, Havertz is on 0.34 with Firmino at 0.39 during his time at Anfield. Similarly, their goal contributions per game are also bang level, with both players sitting at 0.54 per game.
Of course, there are a few things to mention in doing such comparisons.
Firmino did it over a longer period with Liverpool, making 361 appearances in his eight years at the club, while Havertz is only in his third year with Arsenal and has just ticked over the 100 appearance mark.
The one big outlier is the amount of assists. Firmino had 79 assists over that period with Havertz still on just 20. However, if you look at the average, there’s not much difference once again.
Clearly, we are looking at two players here who were and are at the top of their game.
Havertz once again showed for Arsenal why he is so crucial and he seems to be adding more goals as well now.
As for who is the better player of the two, that will likely always cause a debate and be weighted heavily by which team you support.
