Arsene Wenger, a legendary figure in Arsenal’s history, recently shared his candid opinion about the club’s current forward, Kai Havertz. Now a pundit for beIN Sports, Wenger was asked to compare Havertz to England captain Harry Kane, particularly in terms of their goalscoring ability. While Wenger appreciates Havertz’s overall impact at Arsenal, he remains skeptical about whether the German international will ever evolve into a prolific scorer like Kane.
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Since joining Arsenal from Chelsea, Havertz initially struggled to adapt to his new role. Upon arrival, he was expected to fulfill a midfield position, but he had a slow start, struggling to meet the demands of the Premier League. This led Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to adjust his strategy and shift Havertz into a more central forward role. This change has been transformational for Havertz, with the 25-year-old now finding his form and becoming one of the first names on Arteta’s team sheet.
Havertz’s form has been especially impressive since the start of the year, where his contributions helped Arsenal to a string of important victories. However, during Arsenal’s recent UEFA Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, a surprising moment occurred. Havertz, who had the opportunity to score in his seventh consecutive home game, deferred to teammate Leandro Trossard, allowing him to take a penalty in the absence of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. Unfortunately, Trossard missed, leading to a tense finish for Arsenal as they narrowly held on for the win. Many questioned why Havertz, known for his strong record from the penalty spot, didn’t step up to take the kick.
Despite moments like these, Wenger holds a high opinion of Havertz’s contributions to the team. He highlighted the player’s hard work both offensively and defensively, pointing out that his versatility makes him an important asset. However, Wenger cautioned that fans should manage their expectations when it comes to Havertz’s goalscoring ability. In comparison to Harry Kane, who has consistently been among the Premier League’s top scorers, Wenger believes Havertz is not the same type of player.
In his analysis, Wenger said, “Havertz is more of a contributor to the all-round game. Defensively, he works very hard, but offensively he scores fewer goals than Kane and will never reach Kane’s numbers. He’s more of a 10-and-a-half or a nine-and-a-half.” While Kane has long been a focal point in his teams’ attacks, Havertz plays a more versatile role, contributing in multiple areas but lacking Kane’s clinical finishing.
In the same discussion, Wenger praised Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, who recently returned to form in a 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague. Wenger remarked on Haaland’s exceptional quality and instincts in front of goal, emphasizing that despite his young age, Haaland still has many years to develop and improve. According to Wenger, players like Haaland are redefining the modern striker role, but he remains doubtful that Havertz will ever reach that level of goalscoring consistency.
