Kai Havertz has had a turbulent start to his Arsenal career, misjudged by many on what he was going to be with the resultant expectations of that misjudgement not being lived up, as a result the German has come under some serious criticism. I’d like to answer the question of whether that’s fair.
Is he actually useless? Or is he simply misused. There’s a lot to unpack with Kai Havertz and I’d be doing a disservice to him if I didn’t take in the full context. Was he a waste of money? A rare misstep by Arsenal’s recruitment team, or are the growing pains understandable and likely to only be a brief hiccup, entirely outstripped in importance by an excellent rest of his Arsenal career.
You can’t begin to tell the story of Kai Havertz without first examining Thomas Müller, the man who he’s been compared to consistently throughout his short career. Müller is an odd player, not the most athletic player on the planet nor the most technical, he fails nearly all measurable criteria to be an elite player in a specific position. If you put him up front he won’t stretch the defence, bully the centre halves or put the ball in the back of the net at every opportunity. He doesn’t have the legs or 1v1 calibre for the flanks, he’s not going to split the defence with a pass from midfield nor is he going to evade pressure in build up receiving deep. Yet he’s played 453 (and counting) league games for the biggest club in Germany and has played over 125 times for one of football’s great superpowers. So what’s his secret?
He’s the ultimate facilitator on the ball, his first thought is to find the better option, the more valuable space. However, that isn’t what’s most impressive about him, it’s not why the name Thomas Müller is so famous, to find that out we have to look away from the sun which the game orbits around- instead we must look at the cold vacuum of space.
The English translation of the German word Raumdeuter is “space interpreter”, that word is entirely synonymous with Müller- if you look it up on google it doesn’t come to any sort of definition or explanation, it simply directs you to his Wikipedia page.
It’s a concept rather than a role, in essence it attempts to describe Thomas Müller’s ability to pick up valuable positions. It effectively describes a lot of what makes Thomas so good, he understands space and how to occupy it- something that exists similarly in Kai Havertz’s game.
The same understanding of space is useful out of possession as well, Thomas Müller is unsurprisingly a incredible presser, he shadows well and is a key leader in any successful Bayern side’s off the ball work. Kai Havertz is similar in this regard, he’s a top class presser but their similarities go beyond what they actually do on the football pitch.
Both Kai Havertz and Thomas Müller are minimalists, they’re efficient, clunky and unselfish. It can be to their detriment at times, when they aren’t producing output they tend to be criticised heavily, people like players that look good on the football pitch and that just isn’t either of them.
There’s a common misconception that their similarities mean that their usages have to be similar, that despite their obvious differences Kai Havertz is suited to being used in the same way Thomas Müller is. I disagree but I do empathise with this instinct and that empathy comes from what Kai Havertz did and what he was was during his days at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Bayer days and the impossibility of recapturing them.
When things aren’t going well for Kai Havertz many point towards his Leverkusen work as a reference to what once was and as a vehicle to lament the player that is. One thing that people get right when talking about those times is this: he was a very different player at Bayer, just watching him he was simply more fluid, more comfortable and a far bigger threat out wide (he even played a fair portion of his games on the right) than the player we see today. He was primarily a shadow striker at Bayer though, and a good one at that- quick, incisive and had the all important understanding of space, it was like if you gave Thomas Müller the physical gifts that he famously lacks.
However, I’d still argue that he wasn’t the reincarnation of Thomas Müller even back then, Müller’s lack of physical gifts is what saw him unable to thrive within a typical position, the existence of Kai’s meant that this was never likely to occur. Even during that time where the comparisons between the two were at their most fierce, Kai put in his best performances up front; suited to the more transitional nature of German football he thrived making runs in behind. In his 8 games there in the 19/20 season he scored as many goals and that’s what Chelsea believed they were signing, a player equally adept up front or in attacking midfield who guarenteed output while acting as a perfect facilitator for their other attackers. That is decidedly not what they got.
The Growth Spurt: the worst/best thing that has happened to Kai Havertz.
There’s been two big growth spurts in Kai Havertz’s footballing career thus far , one at age 14 when he went from the shortest kid on the team to the tallest and scuppered his dreams of replicating his childhood idol Lionel Messi (in playstyle that is…). More pertinent to this piece though was one roughly around 2020 when he went from the fluid, comfortable player that we saw at Bayer to the slightly unsettled, tentative mover that we’ve seen for the past few years. Most sites had Kai Havertz listed at roughly 6"2 during his time at Bayer, fast forward to his transfer to Arsenal and he’s the tallest player at the football club at around 6"4.
This growth spurt didn’t come at a good time either, his move to Chelsea was one that wasn’t particularly comfortable for him initially. He was frequently injured in his first season at Chelsea with him also contracting COVID-19 during the period. Whilst he did score the Champions League final winning goal (as well as producing one of the best out of possession performances by a forward that I’ve seen in the home leg of the Semi-Final against Real Madrid), it wasn’t a particularly productive season for him. There were slight signs of improvement under Thomas Tuchel the following year (10 goal contributions in 17 league games up front in 21/22), the German never really got going at Stamford Bridge. Thus, there was little to no uproar about his move from West to North (at least on Chelsea’s side that is) and it seemed to be a case of all parties being happy with their business.
So why was the growth spurt good?
His change in height left him uncoordinated, slower, a (statistically) weaker finisher, a less confident passer/carrier and generally led to a severe loss of confidence (only compounded by his surrounding environment being so poor in the years immediately succeeding) but, what it did do is create the potential for one of the best out and out centre forwards in Europe.
In the 22/23 Premier League season Kai Havertz was in the 96th percentile for percentage of aerial duels won, he’s been consistently above the 70th percentile in that statistic for his entire career. Stats don’t tell half the story though, Kai Havertz is one of the best aerial threats in Europe, he’s tall, slippery and a fantastic target to aim at. He also has the potential to be one of the best “box dominators” in Europe, very few in the world receive as many passes into the area as Kai Havertz does up top and that translates to a genuine gravity in the position- he draws defenders towards him like few else and it makes him a top tier facilitator without really having to try. He just wouldn’t have the ceiling he does today without that added height and while it’s certainly delayed the development of Kai Havertz into a true world beater, it’s likely worth it if he’s under the right guidance.
Kai Havertz in midfield.
Stats are a very rudimentary form of judging a player. Especially stats such as these, they aren’t possession adjusted (why the duel winning numbers are so low) and they can back up multiple contradictory narratives at the same time. Some will tell you that these aren’t the statistics of a midfielder, that this “proves” that he’s either a poor footballer or should be moved further forward. Others will tell you that this presents Arteta’s Kai Havertz Raumdeuter vision, an aerial winner, a ghost who picks up positions and receives the ball where it’s dangerous. Here’s what I will say about Kai Havertz in midfield, he’s not anything in build up (frankly he’s a net negative in the pivot for the initial 4–2 shape that Arsenal use in the first phase), he’s a generally good ground duellist (wins a lot of them but his lack of control over his limbs is abundantly clear at times) and he’s not a player that is likely to dominate his zone that far deep.
So what does this mean for Kai Havertz in midfield?
As always it’s all about balance, if you are going to use him in midfield it cannot be with any deep phase responsibilities, he’s poor at getting away from his marker when receiving, he’s not technically consistent enough to get away with simply being a wall pass in the pivot and it’s simply just a waste of his height. You’ve also got to pair him with the correct winger, he’s not going to tilt the block towards his side through his gravity and volume of touches in the half space (as the ball dominant Martin Ødegaard does), nor is he going to overlap on the left hand side and whip are cross in.
The winger next to him ideally needs to be a good crosser of the ball, a wide creator in order to facilitate his runs in behind and a strong receiver when the ball goes to feet (both on the touchline and between the lines). Kai’s also more comfortable on the right, the open angles help him when receiving due to the lack of fluidity he has with his size. He can more easily turn and carry inside on his favoured left foot. What’s clear as a resultant function of these factors is that Kai Havertz doesn’t, didn’t and will never fit the LCM role at Arsenal. It’s simply not him- Gabriel Martinelli thrives next to a passer who can unleash him in behind, he wants to move inside and beyond as his first response to a variable change as well. Those two instincts, those two attributes can be just as equally stated to Kai Havertz- their movements are too similar to work, one must compromise, one must be suppressed and that is a frankly unacceptable thing, an unworkable thing to impose on talents such as these.
What about with a different winger on the left?
Even if the environment was perfect on the left, it still wouldn’t make much sense. Let’s say it was Reiss Nelson on the left wing and Leandro Trossard in the Centre Forward position, two ball dominant players who can feed him as he runs in behind as well as facilitating him in the area. An environment that couldn’t possibly be more suited to him. Even then, Kai Havertz’s primary job would still be to run the left channel- something that he isn’t particularly good at, he’s not overly dynamic on the underlap and he isn’t a particularly penetrative carrier from that side either. Not to mention the general awkwardness that he has playing on he left, he struggles to access and facilitate even a ball to feet winger like Nelson nor is he comfortable shooting and passing across his body with his angles closed off. The function of these flaws is that he’d simply not be asked to do the jobs that the dynamics demand of him, he’d play to his own ghostly whims- he’d score, he’d assist but he’d do little else. While some may argue that producing output is enough, that it’s the hardest thing to do in football and his value is therefore sufficient, I’d tend to disagree. Even in his best environment Kai Havertz the number 8 inevitably suppresses those around him, are we confident that his (lessened due to the deeper areas he’s responsible for) output would make up for this? I’m not.
The left hand side of midfield is not an acceptable solution, the environment at it’s best is still unacceptable. He’ll win his duels, he’ll score goals and he’ll run in behind but it still isn’t good enough. Even if there are no deep phase responsibilities, it’s still not good enough- it’s still a desecration of what it means to be a number 8, a personal insult to the Pedri’s, De Jong’s and Gundogan’s of the world.
This is the situation that we’re looking at at the time of writing with Kai, he’s had the LCM role tailored to him- he’s high and asked to do his own thing, but it isn’t working, his output is up but Martinelli’s has suffered and that isn’t something that can occur in this Arsenal side. There is no concept of a sacrificial lamb in football, one players strengths cannot directly contribute to another player’s weaknesses in a functional team. The Kai Havertz LCM experiment has been optimised to it’s fullest with the players that are currently in the side but it simply must stop- it’s not optimal and it’s killing Arsenal’s best finisher.
Kai Havertz on the right- a solution.
The positives.
Kai Havertz has a right hand side bias, he’s more comfortable there and crucially tends to drift there without specific instruction when starting in central areas. It gives him easier access to the left hand side of the pitch when receiving and it allows for him to drive inwards when carrying before playing outwards (something we’ve seen often in the time he’s played next to Saka).
This is crucial for improving the quality of 1v1’s that the winger takes, he’s dragging defenders away (or at least widening the channel when he’s attacking the back line) and therefore giving more space to the winger on the touchline to attack after he plays it out. This is an issue on the left with Martinelli, he either tends to directly forward (none of the aforementioned benefits being reaped as a product) or he doesn’t drive at all and plays it out early when the full back is still tight to Martinelli (therefore needing the Brazilian to create separation by himself in order to take the 1v1). Kai is not asked to do much straight line running on the right, which suits him- he’s just not built for it.
He’s also *likely* to produce more output from the right and over the course of a season should have a similar level of output to any of the other interiors that Arsenal could use in the position whether that be Vieira, Smith Rowe or Ødegaard. Playing on the right allows him to drift into the area and spend most of his time high, as long as he’s confident in himself a certain level of output is inevitable. Cutbacks, knock downs or simply sweeping up after the first phase of an attack (which he’s very good at- he inarguably sniffs out space very well), Kai Havertz will produce from the right.
The out of possession environment surrounding him is also more optimal on the right, he’s able to be part of the front 2 out of possession which he excels at- no longer having to block space in the pivot, he’s able to use his duel winning capabilities in high pressing situations.
It’s here that his intelligence in shadow marking and keeping the press compact is properly allowed to shine, there’s rarely space to exploit behind Kai Havertz in the press and that is largely due to his individual pragmatism and feel for when he needs to drop. Adding Kai Havertz to the right is also fantastic news for Arsenal’s out of possession play outside of an individual context, a front 2 of Havertz and Jesus is without doubt the best in world football, a perfect combination of aggression, intelligence and physical capacity in the duel. Kai Havertz at RCM enables Arsenal to uphold their reputation as the best out of possession team in world football.
Having him in the first line of engagement out of possession also makes better use of his transitional qualities, he’s higher and therefore closer to the valuable space- that in behind running and empathetic passing can be funnelled into actions of greater value.
Havertz being in the first line of the press also helps with the mental side of things, he’s still pretty low on confidence and is largely unwilling to abandon his defensive or deep phase duties in favour of potentially more valuable actions due to that. Kai at RCM is still plagued by midfield responsibilities to an extent, but he feels far less bound to deeper areas and therefore spends a lot more of his time in the box. He is far more willing to make general movements and perform actions outside of his “zone” due to the reduction in deeper responsibilities. Kai is best when he’s got a level of freedom and he’s not going to interpret a role freely that has restrictions on it due to his lack of confidence, that freedom has to be thrust upon him to an extent (as it can be to an extent at RCM).
The existence of Gabriel Jesus up front is also helpful for Havertz at RCM, his consistent dropping into the second phase to act as a plus one gives Havertz the opportunity to operate in more central areas- due to him picking up the occupying responsibilities, re: the centre halves. There’s also the possibility of Jesus dragging centre halves out of the defensive line through his dropping movements, giving Kai space to exploit in behind if he’s willing to make the run.
The Arsenal right hand side is also still functional despite Kai Havertz’s movements. Kai Havertz tends to “abandon” the half space when Bukayo Saka receives the ball via moving into the box (he does this as well when Gabriel Martinelli receives via moving into the far post area). While this gives Saka an option to cross to in the area, it could lead to him being isolated and therefore stuck in difficult 1v1 positions (ideally the interior would overlap or at least drag defenders away from the winger in order to isolate the full back).
However, this problem isn’t really debilitating due to the dynamism that Ben White provides. His overlapping threat enables Saka to move inside (which enables him to make more decisive actions- central zones are King after all) or use his gravity to get Ben White the ball at the by-line (which increases the chances of reaping the rewards of Havertz’s box occupation on the right as he can attack the front post).
He’s also able to reap the rewards of having a good far post crosser on the left in Martinelli, the Brazilian tends to take his man on down the outside so when he cuts in, he usually is afforded more time on the ball than a Saka is ( important to note that there’s different levels of doubling up on Martinelli compared to Bukayo). This greatly aids in his delivery levels and 6"4 Havertz at the back post is a great target to aim at.
It’s also a good solution for Arsenal’s 4–2–4 build up, the high occupation of the right channel allows Havertz to act as a target man from midfield (same goes for his current usage at LCM to be fair) which is crucial in combating man to man presses. Without Havertz, Arsenal struggle to consistently progress if they become technically insecure- with the German however, there’s a little more leeway. Height is the press killer and the ability for Arsenal to bypass the build up phase by playing it direct to Havertz (who’s a top facilitator once he receives the ball) presents a large part of his value to the club (especially at RCM which enables him to stay high in these phases given the system). It ain’t revolutionary, but it’s useful.
Negatives:
First and foremost, Kai Havertz is not the best RCM in the squad. As a pure player in that role all of Ødegaard, Smith Rowe and Vieira are superior options and when considering Saka as the staple right winger (rather than a pure outside winger who could functionally work with Martin Ødegaard), the latter two still remain more useful than the German. Smith Rowe’s a better enabler of Bukayo due to his movements outside (as well as him being superior to Havertz as a box crashing threat due to his cleaner ball striking when coming on to the ball), Ødegaard is a better pocket player as well as being another player who works better as a box crasher from that role and Fabio Vieira has devastating passing quality in that right half space which facilitates others (including Havertz in his optimal role), while having the highest creative ceiling in the squad.
While there are some benefits for Havertz himself when having Saka specifically as a partner, Saka isn’t so lucky in this partnership (aside from the lack of occupation of similar channels and Kai being somebody to cross the ball too). Bukayo is forced to be responsible for both tilting (through a high volume of touches) and exploiting (through crossing and other forms of remote access) the block from the right hand side.
While Havertz genuinely does do some stretching of the block duties from RCM, he doesn’t manipulate the block via moving defenders around/ increasing the concentration of defenders ballside, which rtherefore educes the ability to access the left hand side in good areas as the block isn’t forced to tilt towards the right (aside from doubling up on Saka but that can usually be done without adverse effects on the left- an interior is needed to have some sort of ball dominance or gravitating actions outside the box in order for the block to truly be scared enough to congregate on the right).
There’s also a serious waste of many of his good facilitating qualities in a midfield role, by having him operate predominantly on the right, he isn’t able to reliably interact with Martinelli (who needs a facilitator next to him to truly thrive out wide due to his direct nature and in behind threat) or with Declan Rice who has the capabilities to be a genuinely high level box crashing interior if he’s got the correct environment (which includes a strong facilitating central presence like Havertz). In short, Havertz at RCM in this regard hurts his ability to enable production from others due to not having him function in entirely central areas.
He’s also forced to perform actions in that RCM that he’s not particularly comfortable in doing, occupying the pockets is simply not something that Kai Havertz is great at. The tight areas and need to create separation from his marker in those spaces doesn’t suit his frame in the slightest. He’s also not particularly impressive doing general half space jobs, he’s got a fine delivery on him but that delivery isn’t best used in congested areas (note that there’s also nobody for him to cross the ball to in the box due to a lack of a certain somebody in there), but aside from that he’s only ever going to do jobs on the ball to a fine standard. His passes are empathetic, his carries are safe but he’s not going to be the difference maker in those areas to really break down a block.
He’s not suited to the style of box crashing that a midfield role entails either, he’s awkward when coming onto the ball which usually leads to him not striking through it cleanly. He’s a drifter rather than a crasher, a crasher needs to penetrate into the box and perform actions while doing that penetration, that just isn’t something that the German is effective at. The incompatible thing here is that the RCM needs a box crasher of some sorts, there needs to be penetration into the area rather than mere movement otherwise there’s nobody to properly push the block back on the right (Kai does an alright job of it but there’s wiggle room) or facilitate Saka’s creative threat. The drifter (Kai) is far more suited to doing that drifting entirely within the confines of the box, rather than transitioning from out to in and therefore not doing jobs that are required from somebody who’s outside the area for a fair bit of time to the wanted standard. This is as well as not always being in valuable positions due to those jobs (which is their entire job!). Time spent outside of the area for Kai in settled play is largely time wasted, that truth is simply incompatible with using him in that RCM role functionally.
So is it viable?
Sorta? It’s a solution that emphasises a lot of what he’s good at, he’s allowed to drift into areas, win second balls and occupy the box. He will fulfil the base function that Kai Havertz has to consistently bring to the side in order for this Arsenal to properly work in big games- namely the ability to play over the press using him as a target man. However, it really isn’t (fully) ideal in that regard either, due to him being the primary receiver when going long he can’t really be a primary penetrating force to be facilitated for and while that can be mitigated (Martinelli at CF), it doesn’t make best use of his abilities as an in behind threat.
There’s also a psychological issue with him at RCM, it’s a role that emphasises his non-ball dominating attributes, his raumdeuter tendencies if you will. He will already do all of that off the ball stuff in a position that doesn’t emphasise those attributes (such as CF), all that emphasising those attributes does is take away from his facilitating qualities in volume. He needs to have his on the ball work emphasised through having the team play through him (or at least bounce off of him) to a certain degree in order to be useful in that regard- he doesn’t need his off the ball stuff emphasised, his arm doesn’t need to be twisted into doing that stuff in the same manner that his arm needs to be twisted into being an on the ball presence.
RCM just isn’t central enough to allow that, he’s definitely not a bad ghost, but he can be more than that if play is funnelled through that. Another issue is that his lack of assertiveness is only further exacerbated in the role, his confidence issues are clear to see and that same issue of ghosting crops up as a result of that. He’s not going to take the game by the scruff of the neck, you’ve more so got to hand it to him- that just doesn’t happen at RCM. He is far too tentative to make that role work and it plays into a lot of the issues he has psychologically via allowing him to drift in and out of games.
Overall, it’s fine- Kai Havertz at RCM isn’t fundamentally flawed as an idea in the same way that Kai Havertz at 8 is, there’s some arguments that it makes use of his qualities in a way that isn’t possible anywhere else. Havertz is very good at his interpretation of RCM, it’s just that, that interpretation isn’t necessarily optimal for the team nor is it how you get the most value out of him. He isn’t going to influence a game to the level you’d expect of a 65 million pound signing at RCM, his output isn’t going to be anywhere near the level that he’s capable of and even the dynamics that he’s surrounded by don’t make best use of his ability to make the team better. It is not the solution, if this was his best role then I’d definitively disagree with the allotment of funds towards the German. Luckily, it’s not and I don’t.
Kai Havertz at Centre Forward.
Kai Havertz is often touted as position-less, he’s either believed to be “versatile” or he “doesn’t know his best position” depending on what end of the Kai Havertz spectrum you’re on. I believe that to be untrue. He does have a wide ranging skillset, but that doesn’t mean that skillset overlaps well in most positions. He’s a limited midfielder, a limited winger, a limited full back (Nagelsmann?) but that certainly isn’t the case up top. He is frankly, one of the most complete centre forward’s in world football.
The hook
The Enganche is a player that’s deified in Argentina, they’re the “hook” between the midfield lines and the attacking lines. The centre of space, the interpreter of the tempo of the team and undoubtedly the most important tool for progression in the side. I am not claiming Kai Havertz to be anything of the sort, what he can be though is the “hook” between the attacking lines and the space in behind. The ability to access that space through positional discipline and high level timing of release to wide outlets allows him to be a transitional force not only off the ball but on it as well.
Why is it important?
His function as the hook is fundamental to Arsenal’s transitional value. His ability to hold up the ball and acts as a middle man between the bottom of the pitch and Arsenal’s wide outlets allows for quick progression and more importantly dangerous access of in behind spaces. The ability for Arsenal to bypass the build up lottery and not rely on having to play *through* the press by being able to play *over* it is vital in this era of man to man presses and that ability is only accentuating by having him down the middle. Not only does he keep the ball fantastically well when it’s hit long to him (his first touch and use of his body with his back to man is truly top tier), he is fantastic at bringing others in to play once he’s brought it down. Having Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe (two space eaters and clinical finishers) close to Kai Havertz when he’s acting as “the hook” is a chance creation machine.
The out to in runs that commonly occur from a lot of Arsenal’s players simply can’t be accessed without a facilitator next to them. It’s something that distinguishes Havertz from Gabriel Jesus at centre forward, not only is the German a far more reasonable outlet to have as the first contact to a long ball, he’s also far more comfortable bringing others into play as his first thought and it’s imperative in these situations that the first thought is the one executed due to the time constraints on transitions. He completely changes the transitional outlook of the team and he’s almost a necessity to have next to Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli if you want to maximise their output and abilities as some of the coolest finishers in the squad.
The penetrator
Kai Havertz is a phenomenal in behind threat. His runs are intelligent, he’s quick and he’s fantastic at attacking the most valuable space available. His ability to attack space is definitely one of his greatest strengths however, from deep and from the flanks the space he’s invading isn’t extraordinarily valuable- that isn’t the case up front. His exploitation of in behind space when starting high dwarfs his deeper exploitation in efficiency, when he makes runs from the 9 he is far more likely to score from them simply due to the fact that those runs are in behind the backline rather than from the midfield line to just in front of a stretched backline (as he would be doing in a so-called “raumdeuter” role).
The environment also suits this ability well, Ben White and Bukayo Saka are great at passing into exploitable space and the latter's gravity in particular eases the runs that Havertz has to make. While he is a definitive off ball threat in transition due to his in behind threat (and a cool finisher 1v1 when he’s confident- more on that later), that isn’t the only situation where his penetrative abilities come to the fore- they are also fantastically useful in settled play.
The threat he poses forces the defensive line to sag when in settled situations, his consistency in off-ball runs opens up the space in front- not for himself, but for others crashing the box such as an Emile Smith Rowe or a Martin Ødegaard. All the best centre forwards fulfil this function, a certain gravity and fear that they strike into their opponents through their assertive threat allows for others to benefit from their presence even without touching the ball.
Kai Havertz isn’t just a facilitator for other penetrators, he is that himself- a high level transitional threat that no centre-half wants to see running in behind. That’s what City get out of Haaland up front, a guy to play over the press and a devastating outlet in behind- but Havertz is more than that, he’s a credible link man as well. Outside of the area as a centre forward Kai Havertz has the ability to do the jobs that you buy both a Harry Kane *and* an Erling Haaland to do- irrespective of the standard that he does those jobs to (obviously not at the level of either in their respective fields), the fact that you can ask him to do both speaks to his utter completeness as a centre forward at his best and it speaks to why Arsenal signed him.
The finisher
Contrary to popular belief Kai Havertz is not a bad finisher, he’s had bad finishing years but he’s not a bad finisher. There are reasons behind his finishing issues over the years, the growth spurt, confidence and the Chelsea factor™. Now, this may seem unsubstantiated, so here’s my evidence.
Firstly, Kai’s shot prep is top notch- he creates separation efficiently (through both using his large frame and getting it out of his feet well) and the positive first touches that he has when he’s on it are incredibly effective at giving him the space to shoot. He’s also generally pretty good at knowing when to shoot, you’ll rarely see a shot taken by Kai Havertz that shouldn’t be and it’s just as unlikely that you’ll see a geniune opportunity for him to shoot be passed up on.
The main thing that I like with Kai Havertz’s actual finishing is how intuitive it is, with a great example of this being his goal against RC Lens in the Champions League group stage (where he improvised based on the bounce of the ball being too high for his initial planned finish and managed to use his foot to poke it just underneath Brice Samba’s arm). He is no “system” finisher, only taking the type of chances that the manager has laid out for him as being a possibility, he’s instinctive and that’s a great strength to have.
As mentioned previously he’s good in the air, as a back post arrive there’s few better than Kai Havertz simply due to his height- you can swing the ball without that much precision and he’ll likely be able to get it (especially as he’s usually attacking a shorter full back rather than a centre half). He’s good at the front post as well, his flick on game is impressive and has only improved as he’s gotten older.
He’s also been shown to be adept as a pure striker of the football with his goal against England in the Nations League being an example of this. Kai Havertz is no devastating striker of the football in the Erling Haaland mould, but when he has time he tends to strike the ball fairly cleanly from long range and that’ll likely only improve as he gets more comfortable with his body post-growth spurt (with his volleying in particular taking a sizeable dip in quality after his move from Leverkusen).
Out of everything though, my main belief in Kai Havertz as a good finisher is his mental approach to the game and the juxtaposition of it to Gabriel Jesus presents a wonderful case study for why it’s a good thing for Kai.
Kai’s calm, Jesus is decidedly not so. Gabriel Jesus has a history of letting missed chances get to him, making a mountain out of a molehill when things don’t drop how he wants them to. Don’t get me wrong, I love how emotional Gabriel Jesus is, he takes matters into his own hands like few others- he wouldn’t be the beautiful footballer we see every week (with depressing 4–6 week breaks every 3 months) without that emotion. However, it isn’t particularly conducive to a great finisher- being bothered isn’t how you finish the next chance.
This just isn’t an issue for Kai, while often his lackadaisical demeanour is criticised when things aren’t going well, it’s largely a net positive for him on the pitch- calling him a cool head in general is a step too far but in front of goal? There’s no doubt. When he’s in behind, 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper I expect Kai Havertz to score- his inevitability isn’t something that’s appreciated yet (largely because he isn’t inevitable- yet), but once it is it’ll be impossible to miss and he’ll go from being seen as a poor finisher to being one of the best around.
The fit
It’s all well and good waxing lyrical about how good he *might* be as a centre forward in isolation, it’s all well and good theorising about what he *might* be able to do but the most important thing in all of this is what he’d *actually* be able to do in this Arsenal side at centre forward. Lucky for us, the general “fit” is the thing that I’m most excited about with Kai Havertz.
Firstly, it’s important to state that there’s invariably going to be differences in how Kai Havertz fits into the side based upon who he’s playing with- does he fit as well with Martin Ødegaard in comparison to Emile Smith Rowe? No, he doesn’t and that’s important to acknowledge and delve into. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Right Central Midfield
The Martin Ødegaard “fit”.
The “fit” is a bit of a mixed bag, there’s a theoretical agreement in their relationship. Kai Havertz’s off the ball movement when settled is fairly inventive and nobody is as inventive on the ball in the squad (league, world?) as Martin Ødegaard. Kai’s weak foot isn’t poor, those balls we see Martin sneak past the defensive line weekly wouldn’t necessarily be wasted on Kai. Martin’s also not a bad crosser of the ball, while the back post drifting is certainly not exclusive to the centre forward role for Kai- there are fruits to be found with Martin in this number 9 context.
Martin’s also pretty meh as a transitional passer (on the right that is), a transitional 1–2 punch ala Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland is not what we have on our hands here. In essence, they are both pretty malleable and intelligent players- it’s nothing to write home about but it’s functional in possession.
Out of possession however, the Martin Ødegaard/ Kai Havertz relationship truly blossoms. We’ve already seen a level of compatibility in this regard, the hybrid press instituted in the Man United game earlier in the season saw both put in some of the best out of possession performances of the season (especially taking into account Kai was functioning in an unfamiliar deeper role). The blocking of space and understanding of triggers that both have in their locker was on full display, they are probably the two most intelligent pressing minds in the squad (excluding Rice but like, that’s OOP Jesus we’re talking about) and having those two leading the press is such as useful tool to have. The flexibility that those two would give Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff is something that is tough to value but is certainly appreciated.
The Fabio Vieira “fit”.
Fabio Vieira is the best passer in the squad, I mentioned the lack of a Haaland- De Bruyne transitional 1–2 punch with the Ødegaard relationship, well here you go. There are very, very few footballers who are able to find runners as well as Fabio Vieira, at the risk of sounding cliché- this boy has got an absolute wand of a left foot and he bloody well knows it.
That threat isn’t just transitional, Fabio’s the best crosser in the squad and there’s nobody else you want serving up balls for the German to attack. He’s also got a certain level of that Martin Ødegaard intuitive bag, he understands the football pretty well on both feet and feeding Kai in the box on the half turn is something that he’ll do nearly as well as the Norwegian. Whilst it applies to all 3 possible RCM candidates, lay offs into space outside the area (with Kai’s gravity creating that space) are something that Fabio will definitively benefit from. He’s can hit them from range and having a sort of backboard spitting out 30 of those a season can only increase his output in comparison to the current striker options who don’t have the same gravity (Eddie) or instinct (Jesus).
The Emile Smith Rowe “fit”.
The Kai Havertz/ Emile Smith Rowe partnership may seem to the naked eye one of overlapping similarities and therefore inefficiencies however, Kai’s completeness means that whilst similar they are still balanced.
In transition, Emile Smith Rowe is a high level outlet to be facilitated for, with the 4–2–4 build up allowing that facilitation via having Kai and Emile in close proximity. Would I say that their partnership in transition is directly as compatible as Fabio/Kai? No, but it’s functional, Smith Rowe is no big space passer but his enabling qualities and his individualist abilities (largely his exceptional carrying) mean that there’s no issue to speak of. They facilitate each other to an acceptable degree and that’s all that’s required, neither really need to be aided in transition.
In settled play there’s not much to speak of, Emile will crash the box and Kai will help enable that with his gravity and lay offs. What Smith Rowe largely brings in settled play is enabling qualities for Bukayo Saka, the ability to get his mate inside via overlapping runs and dragging players on the underlap is something that *will* benefit Kai Havertz. Having one of the best passers in the squad (Saka) in that right half space can only help Havertz’s output and accessing the back post through a Saka cross is something we’ve seen countless times already this season. Emile enables that and Kai benefits from it- the partnership works and it’s a good fit.
Left Central Midfield.
It’s important to note that there’s a lesser importance to the relationship between the LCM and the CF in comparison to the RCM/ CF relationship just largely based on the lack of proximity, in a 4–2–4 the interactions between the CF and the LCM aren’t particularly important in a macro sense due to them being less in number, but in settled play there’s is still a “fit” that needs to be examined.
The important thing at that LCM spot is for the player to be a high tier passer, the ideal is that they can feed runs in behind for Kai in transition and whip balls in for him to attack at the back post in settled play (as well as generally feeding him on the half turn in the box).
Declan Rice fits the bill, with him also having a box crashing threat which fits well with Kai, Martin Ødegaard also checks out- with the reduction in available angles to him tending to have the effect of making him more direct in transition and I’d expect the partnership to be better as a result. The adequate LCM options available at the club (Rice, Ødegaard, Lokonga, Patino and Trossard) all fit the bill with Havertz, if they don’t fit in with Kai (in regards to being a passer that threatens in transition and manipulates a block to a good standard), then they likely don’t fit in the with the side at all.
Left wing.
There’s a little more leeway in regards to how his usage would differ on the basis of who play’s on the left, the squad has some very different profiles who can operate out wide and again as a testament to Havertz’s malleability, he has the ability to operate well with all of them.
Reiss Nelson
Reiss is not some sort of wide outlet, he’s not somebody who’s going to be running in behind and therefore for a team to function with him out wide you’ll likely need a penetrative threat up top. Somebody is going to need to run the channels for Reiss to let him get inside his fullback and while some of that can come from midfield in settled play, ideally the centre forward will be there for slip passes inside.
He’s not anything to write home about in transition either, there’s nothing expansive about Reiss Nelson’s game and whilst that is largely fine for what he is in the squad, it does mean that the centre forward has to do a lot of the leg work in this regard.
Luckily Kai Havertz can do these jobs, he’s the type of centre forward that can accommodate a Reiss Nelson, he’s a threat in behind and at his best is a willing runner- they’re a partnership that isn’t going to necessarily rock the boat but it’s usable as a dynamic. Havertz up front enables a consistent usage of Nelson, which considering the latter’s proficiency at breaking down a low block, is a massive tick in Kai’s column.
Gabriel Martinelli
I mentioned some potential fruits of this partnership beforehand in the midfield section with regards to Havertz being a target for Martinelli’s back post crossing but there’s a lot more to it than that. Simply put, this relationship has the ability to be the most directly valuable in the team and it’s a relationship that right now is entirely dysfunctional.
The main difference between how the relationship functions with Martinelli at LW and Havertz at CF in comparison to Havertz in the LCM role is the “middle man” of that passer LCM profile that’d exist with Kai out of the role. They’ve both got somebody trying to find their runs and the lack of complete proximity means that those runs don’t necessarily have to be the same runs.
Confusion and fear (as well as just, scoring) are the main goals of running in behind, when defenders are scared they naturally drop towards their goal and this relationship performs that function well. This penetrative threat is crucial in transitional games, having two top tier outlets who are also incredibly cool under the cosh is something that is entirely required for the biggest of nights- you don’t win unless you are prepared to suffer and that suffering has to be broken up somehow.
When settled, Havertz also has a tendency to drift towards the right and therefore away from Martinelli which is largely a good thing, their relationship when in settled play isn’t ideal. It largely manifests itself when they are in close proximity as Martinelli receiving on the touchline and looking for Kai’s runs or taking his man on from a standing start which is isn’t how you want to use him- he should be making runs as well as Kai rather than him facilitating Kai’s runs. However, when in central areas things are a little different- Kai’s low-touch facilitation is very useful to have close to Martinelli in the box. Gabriel Martinelli is the player that you want taking the most shots in the side and having a centre forward who’s first thought is giving it to somebody else can only be a good thing in fulfilling that goal.
Right wing
In an attempt to keep this piece under 40,000 words I’m not going to repeat myself in regards to his balance with Bukayo Saka, it’s largely the same as with him at RCM just without a lot of the 1v1 deficiencies that occur based on his isolation- simply put, a high level runner and header near a high level crosser and passer is going to lead to output.
Gabriel Jesus
While much has been made of their relationship with Kai starting deeper and Jesus dropping in leaving exploitable space in behind (as well as how their movements have been linked in the box with Kai feeding off of second balls from Gabi for two of his goals for the club thus far), there’s been understandably less talk surrounding possibilities in how they’d function in different roles.
I’m a huge fan of Gabriel Jesus as a right winger and his tendency to go outside is a bonus to have with a big centre forward occupying the box, the front post runs that Kai Havertz likes to make aren’t just something that can bring about goal scoring opportunities for himself- they are a chance creation machine on their own.
A gambling Gabriel Martinelli taking advantage of a Kai Havertz front post runs is something we’ve already seen against Luton Town this season and is something we’ll likely see again. Whilst Jesus doesn’t necessarily cross enough when he’s on the wing (which is part of a wider issue with him in regards to inefficiency and a lack of facilitation), it is something that we’ll still likely see more of and having somebody with that box presence is such a good mechanism for dragging defenders away and opening up space for the plethora of box crashers that we have in the side.
Summary
It’s important for me to stress that Kai Havertz isn’t and will never be the perfect centre forward, his completeness is something that I’ve highlighted and praised but that completeness isn’t fully combined with raw quality. He does a lot of things to a good, even great standard, but he does a lot less to a truly top tier standard and that does mean that there’s better players around. However, he is of the standard required to lead a side to Champions League glory in the role, Kai Havertz can be Arsenal’s number 9 if we want him to be long term and in regards to squad planning (and the possible incoming of a superstar this coming summer), I believe that it would work out best if he is in fact that.
Concluding thoughts
I haven’t really felt the need to argue over the validity of Kai Havertz as a player in this piece ajd for good reason. Whilst in the time between me starting this article and it’s publishing Kai’s public perception has improved (as his output has increased). My view on the player hasn’t, the “Kai Havertz conundrum” was never really about quality- it was about usage. IN my opinion, we’ve got it wrong so far. His influence must be increased, his instincts of drifting to the background and only doing what’s most valuable must be suppressed if we are to get value for money on Kai Havertz. He most definitely can be the focal point in this Arsenal side, not only that I’d wager that he’s only of value if he *is* the focal point in this Arsenal side and with that (at least in my mind) I’d like to settle the Kai Havertz conundrum.
He’s been gifted with the power to settle the biggest of matches, he’s been gifted with the ability to facilitate and influence on a level befitting the starting number 9 of one of the biggest clubs in Europe. That gift cannot be thrown away based on his whims and thus the answer to the Kai Havertz conundrum is this- if that gift is harnessed then he will be one of the bargains of the summer, if it’s not, if Arsenal allow for Kai Havertz to play into the stereotype of Kai Havertz, then the recruitment team did in fact make a rare mistake.
Either the financial outlay was wasted (if he’s restricted to a midfield role, a superstar number 9 comes in and he’s rightfully dropped for Emile Smith Rowe or Fabio Vieira in that RCM role/ a new number 8 or Declan Rice in that LCM role), or Arsenal are a worse team for persisting with him in midfield. The Kai Havertz conundrum is a statement but it also poses a question, one which we haven’t got the answer to yet. Whether it be injuries or environment, we simply don’t know what the club’s true view of Kai Havertz is, until then- the Kai Havertz conundrum remains unsolved.
