Kai Havertz: Arsenal striker is now thriving in the Gunners' attack

Havertz may be thriving in front of goal now, but his finishing is a far cry from when he first arrived in England to sign for Chelsea in 2020.

He was signed by then Blues coach Frank Lampard and came in as an attacking midfielder, but during his time at Stamford Bridge he also played as a false nine and as a center forward as they tried to establish his best position.

“I think when he came to Chelsea it wasn't entirely clear,” Lampard said on Amazon Prime.

“He was a very talented player, his position was not entirely clear.

“He was more of a number eight than a midfielder, he was a number nine and we never got to the end of his story at Chelsea. What was his best position?”

In his three years at Chelsea, he never scored more than eight Premier League goals per season.

While Havertz scored the winner in the Champions League final against Manchester City in 2021, he also missed some pretty big chances during his time at the club, and when Arsenal paid £65m for his signing last summer it caused a stir .

Initially he continued to struggle with problems in front of goal and it took ten games before he scored his first goal for the club.

But Arteta's faith in Havertz as a striker eventually paid off and he finished last season with a respectable 13 goals in the Premier League.

Against PSG, he showed all the facets of his game that he probably acquired by playing multiple positions before finally taking on the striker role.

His touch map showed him going deep to launch attacks and drifting wide, and in the penalty area he showed how determined he can be, scoring with one of only five touches he had in the penalty area. scored a goal.

“He plays this hybrid role where he stands in midfield and then arrives (in the penalty area),” Lampard added.

“He’s really starting to embrace the competitive edge that gives him another dimension.”

“There is a natural talent and he always had that.”