Kai Havertz: Page 6 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Kai Havertz

Qwiss

Never been keen on this but if Arteta can get Xhaka playing well he can fix Havertz too.

Pepe LeFrits

Doc looking forward to see what this guy can do and how he will be utilized

Me too. There are questions around how we'll work defensively in transition and under pressure without the ball, but the prospect of what he can give offensively is super exciting. Given we basically play a 3-2-5 when in possession, and spend much more time in possession than out of it, he should be a much better fit for the side than Xhaka.

Himself and Martin on the top of the midfield box 🤤 hopefully we'll have two absolute ballers for the base of the box by August...

goon

Pepe LeFrits here are questions around how we'll work defensively in transition and under pressure without the ball

There was a clip of his pressing and defensive work that would have reassured people I reckon. He might not be as switched on as Xhaka positionally and in terms of filling in spaces in defence, but I think as we develop as a team the aim will be to defend much higher up the pitch with an aggressive high press.

Doc

Pepe LeFrits

Yeah agree. Martinelli is going to love playing next to him I think.

There is going to be some work needed tactically to compensate defensively but also think a major factor we will miss with Xhaka is the 'always available' role that he plays for the team that helps us control the game.. Havertz looks like he is more interested in making forward runs into space..

Qwiss

Pepe LeFrits Given we basically play a 3-2-5 when in possession, and spend much more time in possession than out of it, he should be a much better fit for the side than Xhaka.

Yeah but its where Zinchenko plays in that formation that concerns me. It worked best when Xhaka and Partey were on it and could cover that space and keep midfield but it'd take a big tactical switch to get it to work in transition with Havertz I think. Then again I'm still not fully convinced Arteta will use him as the Xhaka replacement.

Qwiss

goon I think Arteta definitely wants him in large part due to his pressing. Winning the ball high up is very different to dropping back into defence though where you need to contain more than jump in.

Gazza M

Doc yep. we will lose something from xhakas positional play, which is why I envisioned rice in the roaming 8 role to keep providing that stability, with the added drive and athleticism. as you say, there will need to be a strategic reshuffle if he plays as the 8. I really don't want him to be a utility floater that never finds a specific positional home and role. it's an awful fee if that's what he ends up being

est

Huge fee for just an okay player.

Really hope playing in the Xhaka role allows him to take the next step. Otherwise he's going to become a nice add-on to the list of us taking Chelsea trash like Cech, Willian, Luiz and probably a few more that I've already blocked out of my memory.

Pepe LeFrits

Aren't Havertz's off the ball stats really strong too? I know he makes a massive number of off the ball runs but iirc he receives the ball and plays a lot of passes a lot too... I'd be surprised if he doesn't receive the ball a huge amount for us

Mirth

I feel like this is the most exciting transfer of the summer if you’re a tactics nerd. The number of options we now have to play with has gone up significantly and it’ll be interesting to see how we line up. We just need to hope that Chelsea haven’t damaged Havertz too much.

Clrnc

Mirth From what I saw recently in the last 2 German friendlies, definitely not.

Qwiss

Clrnc didn't they lose their last 2 international matches without scoring a goal?

lorddulaarsenal

Definitely not good from a tactics perspective or Chelsea haven’t damaged him?

QuincyAbeyie

The latter

Clrnc

Qwiss they drew against Ukraine, lost against Colombia. Havertz assisted one of the goal against Ukraine I think or one of the good chance. Was impressed with his vision and technique against Ukraine.

The German defence was horrendous though

awooga83

Qwiss I think you are right they lost to Poland and Colombia

Clrnc

Big Willie

Lol so the onboarding interview is out before we even announced the signing on the main site.

Clrnc

Big Willie some intern gonna get sacked haha

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

Didn't even ask him what position he'll play in. So yes, he should get sacked.

« Previous Page Next Page »