Kai Havertz took the small glitch before the official announcement of his move from Chelsea to Arsenal with humor. “You’ve probably already seen it,” tweeted the 24-year-old German national soccer player: “But now I’m ‘officially’ a gunner.”
In addition, Havertz provided part of the video of himself in the new work outfit with shirt number 29, which had already made the rounds in a longer version hours earlier on the Internet through a leak. Arsenal FC also officially announced the new signing on its website in the evening. “It’s super exciting for me to be part of this great club and to be part of the Arsenal family,” Havertz said in the statement. “I hope we can achieve a lot together.” The mentality of the team is very good. “That was one reason why it was so difficult to play against Arsenal,” said Havertz, describing a “family mentality” at Arsenal.
He gets a long-term contract there. Arsenal did not give any details. According to reports, the transfer fee for Havertz, who shot Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021, is around 75 million euros. He is due to join his new teammates in mid-July. “He will bring a great deal of extra strength to our midfield,” enthused coach Mikel Arteta.
From mediocrity to Europe
Havertz moved from Bayer Leverkusen to London in 2020 for 80 million euros. His highlight was the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League triumph, when Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the final. He also won the Club World Cup and the UEFA Supercup with Chelsea. With Chelsea, however, he clearly missed out on a place in the European Cup in a turbulent season. Arsenal’s concrete interest, which was pushed from the top of the table by champions Manchester City late in the past season, became known last week.
Havertz should become a central building block of the Arsenal team. The north Londoners, coached by Arteta, are looking to put together a side that can challenge over time. Arsenal are also interested in West Ham United’s Declan Rice, according to a report from Sky Sports. The offer for the national player is said to have been increased to 122 million euros.
The transfer will help Chelsea to trim down their bloated squad. In addition, the Havertz income can still be booked in the current financial year, which ends on June 30th. This is important for the Blues not to breach the Premier League’s financial fair play. Chelsea had spent around 600 million euros on new stars in the past two transfer windows.
