How Arsenal will line up with Havertz

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 19 Jun 2023 16:52 BST
• 3 min read

Kai Havertz looks set to join Arsenal from Chelsea, in what could be one of the biggest Premier League transfers of the summer. How will the Gunners line up with the forward in their ranks?

It’s fair to say things haven’t really worked out for Havertz at Chelsea – who signed him for a reasonably whopping £72m (€80m) from Bayer Leverkusen three years ago.

Aside from his winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final, the German international has made minimal impact for the Blues – so a parting of ways might give his career the boost it badly needs.

Let’s take a look at how he might slot in to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side, then…

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Arsenal with Havertz?

Arteta almost exclusively used a 4-3-3 formation throughout 2022/23, as Arsenal finished as runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League – and it’s hard to see him making any radical change to that set-up next season.

The addition of Havertz would force the Gunners boss to tweak things slightly, though, as the 24-year-old is not an out-and-out number nine – unlike Gabriel Jesus or Eddie Nketiah, Arteta’s primary two centre-forward options last term.

Still, even with Havertz deployed as a false nine in place of – for argument’s sake – Jesus, the make-up of Arsenal’s front three would be much the same, with Bukayo Saka operating from the right wing and Gabriel Martinelli from the left.

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If Arteta were to spring something of a surprise and alter his formation more significantly, however, he could make use of Havertz and Martin Odegaard as dual number 10s in a 4-1-4-1 – which seems unlikely but is worth briefly exploring in any case.

In such a system, Arsenal would revert to a single midfield pivot – potentially Declan Rice, who the Gunners appear heavy favourites to sign from West Ham.

This would represent a fairly dramatic change in dynamic – but it’s always worth having such options in the back pocket as a manager, especially when you’re about to lead your team back into the Champions League.