See how Arteta’s astute strategic play saved Havertz’s season.

Though he has a fondness for donkeys, Arsenal supporters consider KAI HAVERTZ to be a true thoroughbred.

With two goals in Tuesday night’s 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea, he now has 11 Premier League goals this season.

Kai Havertz celebrates his first goal against former club Chelsea on TuesdayCredit: Rex Havertz sheepishly celebrated scoring his ‘sympathy’ penalty against Bournemouth Credit: Reuters

In his last ten league games, the German has contributed four assists and seven goals. He also has five assists.

With Manchester City and Liverpool, the Gunners are now in the thick of an intense three-way competition for the championship.

If Havertz continues in this manner and guides Mikel Arteta’s team to championship success, he might be viewed as the season’s best value acquisition.

All from a player who had to struggle to persuade the supporters after being originally signed by manager Arteta to play as a midfielder.

When Arteta paid £65 million for Havertz last summer, concerns were voiced. It took Chelsea no time at all to say yes.

The 24-year-old was viewed as lackluster during his three-year stay, despite scoring one of the biggest goals in team history—the 2021 Champions League final winner against Manchester City.

After joining the Blues for £62 million in September 2020, he made 139 appearances but only managed 32 goals.

Havertz isn’t your usual football player. Quiet man, pianist; in March of last year, he disclosed that he had established a refuge for donkeys in Germany after receiving three as a gift from his parents on his 18th birthday.

As a result, you can only image how uncomfortable he felt walking around the Emirates pitch on Tuesday after turning over his old club, all while the home crowd sang his name along to Shakira’s hit song “Waka Waka.”

His teammates at Arsenal seem to like the song as well; during a 3-0 victory over Brighton earlier this month in which he scored the second goal, they sang, “£60million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again.”

Even though he may not want the praise, he deserves it right now.

Havertz was abused and misinterpreted in his Chelsea days.

Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel, and Graham Potter were among those who found it difficult to settle on a starting position for him, wavering between a wide striker and a No. 9 or No. 10.

He was moved around even with Germany, being moved to left-back in November of last year.

By arranging to use Havertz as a free-roaming No. 8 while preseason system trials were underway, Arsenal and Arteta further upended the status quo.

However, Arteta was forced to act. Havertz was forced back into the spotlight as the center forward due to Gabriel Jesus’ prolonged absence due to a knee injury.

With just one goal in his first twelve Premier League games, supporters were silent, questioning whether Arteta had taken on more than he could handle.

The Arsenal team sensed this, which is why, in a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth in September, they graciously allowed Havertz to take a penalty.

However, it wasn’t until February and March that he started to play well, scoring in four straight Premier League games and starting three of them as the line-leader. He hasn’t turned around since.

Arsenal continues to value a top-tier No. 9 in the summer, but Havertz’s remarkably diverse skill set has given Arteta a lot of headaches.

At Chelsea, he was affectionately called “donkey,” but now that he is at Arsenal, he doesn’t appear like one. Despite being 6 feet 4 inches tall, he has a very powerful aerial presence.

Furthermore, you can always rely on Havertz to maintain composure under pressure. In March of last year, he declared, “I felt a special relationship with donkeys from day one.” It’s a pretty serene creature.

Maybe because I’m peaceful too, I can relate to them. They simply want to go about their lives, chill all day, and do nothing. I have always loved them.