Ian Wright makes HUGE claim about Arsenal transfer

Tom Weber

• 17 Jul 2023 12:17 BST
• 3 min read

Ian Wright is very excited about Arsenal's acquisition of Kai Havertz despite the German's struggles with Chelsea.

The Gunners have completed their summer business swiftly with the signings of Havertz, Jurrien Timber and the record transfer of Declan Rice. All told, Mikel Arteta and company have spent north of €200 million and thus expectations will be sky-high heading into next season.

Last term's runners-up will be keen to go one better and beat Manchester City to the title, but in order to achieve that, their incomings will have to live up to the hype. The Havertz deal in particular has raised eyebrows.

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Once one of Europe's most exciting talents, the 24-year-old's career has stagnated in recent campaigns. Shoehorned into a number nine position at Chelsea, Havertz struggled to consistently perform, yet Arsenal were prepared to part with €70m to lure him to the Emirates.

There are questions about Havertz's ability to regularly contribute at the Premier League level and about where he will fit in at Arsenal - after all, if you spend €70m on a player, he is expected to be a starter. Nevertheless, Gunners legend Ian Wright is very excited about the deal.

What did Wright say?

Speaking on his podcast, Wrighty's House, the 59-year-old said: "I feel very, very confident about that midfield and what that midfield can produce. Especially with Havertz. Havertz in that role, I think we are going to be very surprised in his quality as well."

"Arsenal fans are going to love him," he continued, "we haven’t seen nothing from him at Chelsea. Yes, he’s scored the winning goal in a Champions League final and stuff like that. But, he’s not a nine, he’s not a false nine."

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"He’s either a 10, drifting in like he did for Leverkusen, scoring lots of goals in his first couple of seasons. But I can see him as an eight, arriving with Jesus coming out, leaving those spaces. I cannot help but get excited."