Kai Havertz admits Mikel Arteta released one of his favourite players ever

Kai Havertz has grown into one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players.

It’s strange to think that there was a point in time where the German was this strange square peg in a round hole, and whom Arteta just couldn’t quite find the best role for him. Now, it’s so clear that he’s Arsenal’s best centre-forward.

Hopefully Havertz is over his fitness issues now, because he has transformed into an indispensable presence in this Arsenal team. His relentless non-stop pressing and his clutch big-game goals are hugely important for this team’s hopes of winning multiple trophies this season.

On Friday, he answered various questions from Arsenal fans on Reddit. When asked who his favourite footballer was growing up, a few names came to mind, including a player Arteta released.

“To be 100 per cent honest, I used to watch Messi a lot, but obviously there’s no similarity! I liked Samuel Eto’o, I liked Ronaldinho. Thierry Henry, Mesut Ozil… There was a lot of players, but I don’t know who I could choose there, but one of them,” Havertz answered.

Hearing Havertz name Ozil as a big inspiration comes as little surprise considering their German connection. The Arsenal striker would have been 11 years old watching Ozil’s breakthrough at the 2010 World Cup before seeing him lift the trophy four years later. Like many of us, Havertz would’ve no doubt been mesmerised watching some of the stuff Ozil was capable of on a football pitch.

And it’s interesting, although they’re completely different players, Havertz shares that same mix of languid movement, spatial awareness and unselfish vision in the final third. Both have a relaxed, elegant posture on the pitch that occasionally gets misconstrued as lack of urgency. It’s just their nature.

The irony, of course, is that soon after Arteta took over at the Emirates, he made the decision to freeze Ozil out and eventually release him from his contract, as part of taking a hard line on squad discipline and culture.

It’s the same demanding mentality that has fundamentally changed Havertz as a player. He has instilled the defensive work rate and duel-winning mindset that Ozil famously lacked.

It was controversial at the time, but it’s the sort of decision that has helped Arteta build this incredible title-winning team. It’s fair to say he’s been vindicated, as he usually is.