2024-03-12 20:36:25
Kai Havertz had a difficult start at Arsenal. The fans love him now. There are reasons for that – and it could serve as a template for the DFB team.
After 86 minutes, Kai Havertz redeemed an entire stadium last Saturday: The German international, who works for top English club FC Arsenal, rose into the air in the penalty area and headed a cross ball from his teammate Ben White into the net of the visitors’ goal. It was 2-1 and the winning goal for the “Gunners” in the difficult home game against Brentford FC – which gave Havertz and his team the lead in the table.
Arsenal FC is the team of the moment on the island. The Londoners are currently marching from win to win in the Premier League, winning all eight league games this year, sometimes in impressive fashion. In the last three away games, for example, coach Mikel Arteta’s team not only didn’t concede a goal, but also scored an incredible 17 goals. West Ham (6:0), Burnley (5:0) and Sheffield United (6:0) were literally outclassed.
Kai Havertz is also partly responsible for the club’s upswing. After initial difficulties, the 23-year-old has now arrived at his new employer and is currently in impressive form. His summer move from city rivals Chelsea FC to Arsenal FC seems to be paying off. The fans’ initial skepticism has also disappeared.
Mockery and ridicule after Havertz’s summer move
At the beginning of the season it looked as if the relationship between Havertz and Arsenal FC would not be a happy one. The start was anything but promising. In the Community Shield against Manchester City last August, the offensive man missed the best opportunities. “He doesn’t hit the barn door,” said ex-footballer Jamie O’Hara on “Talksport” after the game and then added: “When it comes to scoring goals, he fails.”
In fact, at the beginning of his time at Arsenal, Havertz had visible problems recapturing the accuracy of days gone by. That and the generally fluctuating performance of the DFB star led to an inglorious award. A number of player agents voted Havertz the transfer flop of the summer. Arsenal transferred 75 million euros to Chelsea. An unnamed agent is said to have said, according to The Athletic: “It’s a terrible deal for that money – but maybe he’ll teach me better.”
Shakira’s global hit becomes Havertz’s personal song
It took some time before Havertz actually did that. He had already caused fans to shake their heads on the club’s preparatory tour. The attacker competed in front of an audience in the “Cross and Volley Challenge” and had to score goals as creatively as possible. Points were awarded for both hits and creativity. However, Havertz didn’t score once.
And the meeting simply didn’t work out in terms of general game operations. It wasn’t until the end of September that Havertz finally got the ball into the goal. But he needed a penalty in the away game against AFC Bournemouth, which he scored to make it 3-0 (final score 4-0).
A few minutes after the opening goal at the Vitality Stadium, the Arsenal fans sang from the stands, more or less affectionately making fun of the goalscorer and his expensive transfer to their club. To the melody of Shakira’s global hit “Waka Waka,” fans sang: “60 million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again.” In German: “60 million pounds thrown out the window, Kai Havertz scores again.”