Twelve months ago Kai Havertz looked like a spare part at Arsenal after his big-money move across town from Chelsea but now the German forward is fully justifying his 65mn pounds ($86mn) fee with a sensational start to the season.
The 25-year-old put Arsenal on the path to a 2-0 home win against Paris St Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday with a well-timed run and header in the 20th minute. After taking 10 games to get off the mark for Arsenal last season, it was his fifth goal for the club in the current campaign and he deservedly picked up the man of the match award.
“He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who showed great faith in Havertz even when he was struggling last season, said. “His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.”
It was a satisfying night for Arteta whose Arsenal team dominated one of Europe’s heavyweights in the first half and then comfortably contained them after the break. “Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don’t have the ball,” he said.
“The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story. We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well.”
Victory, following the 0-0 draw away to Atalanta, propelled Arsenal to eighth in the 36-team table and Arteta said it was far too early to start predicting how many more wins his side will need to qualify automatically for the last 16. “I’m not even looking at the table,” he said. “But I think it will be a long journey.”
Another boost for Arsenal was the sight of new signing Mikel Merino coming off the bench for his first appearance in the second half after missing the start of the season with injury. On the down side, fullback Jurrien Timber was forced off at halftime with a muscle issue.
Enrique admits PSG were no match for Arsenal
Meanwhile, Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique said he has no idea how long it will take to turn his side back into a European force after a humbling loss at Arsenal. The French champions, who lost their talisman Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the summer and look like a side in transition, suffered their first defeat of the season.
PSG hit the woodwork twice against Arsenal but they were comfortably contained by the Premier League side. Enrique, who left out forward Ousmane Dembele for disciplinary reasons, accepted his share of responsibility for the defeat but appeared to question his side’s fighting spirit.
“Today we were far away from the standards you need in this kind of match. Arsenal were much better in terms of pressure, intensity, they won every duel,” Enrique told reporters. “It’s impossible to play for a positive result when you don’t win any of your duels on the pitch, their defenders anticipated our attackers and our defenders didn’t anticipate their attackers. Arsenal were superior.”
The Spaniard led PSG to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season as they beat his old club Barcelona in the quarter-finals with Mbappe scoring twice and Dembele also on target to turn the tie around in the second leg. They are top of Ligue 1 and beat Girona in their opening Champions League group game, but Enrique said Arsenal were a big step up in quality for his side.
“I can’t properly evaluate the level of our team, we will have to wait until the end of the season,” he said. “This was our first big rival at a higher level. We knew from the first minute they would press us high and they did it aggressively and we couldn’t cope with that pressure. (Arsenal manager) Mikel (Arteta) has been here for five years, I’ve been at Paris for one year and two months. I don’t know where we are. I have a clear idea where I want us to be but I don’t know how much time I will need.”