Some eyebrows were raised when Arsenal decided to splash £65million to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea during this summer's transfer window.
Havertz had established himself as one of Europe's brightest young talents during his time with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga but his three seasons in the Premier League were inconsistent, to say the least. Often deployed in attack for the Blues, the German international often looked lost tasked with being the primary goalscorer.
But the Gunners have hinted that they see his future deeper, with Mikel Arteta making it clear that the 24-year-old's skillset is likely more suited to a midfield role. “Kai is a player of top quality", Arteta told the club's official website when the signing of Havertz was announced.
"He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.
"We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon." The fact that the Spaniard specifically referred to Havertz bringing variance to the midfield would indicate that he will be utilised as an attack-minded no.8 in north London.
Last season, Granit Xhaka was deployed as the left-sided central midfielder in Arteta's system but the Swiss international has since departed the Emirates Stadium, potentially leaving that role free for Havertz. The talented young playmaker does not possess the same duel-winning skills or commitment to second balls as his predecessor but his movement and ability to find space in the final third could make him the perfect player to arrive late in the box.
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One name that immediately springs to mind when you think of midfielders picking up goalscoring positions is Chelsea icon Frank Lampard and that is exactly who Havertz was compared to by one chief international scout of a traditional top 10 club in Europe back in 2020. Speaking to ESPN about the German's qualities when he joined the Blues three years ago, the scout said: "In my view he's simply a fantastic player.
"For me, tactically, he's the complete central midfielder. Recently he's been fielded as a winger and as a striker, but for me he's a central midfielder; the perfect number eight. From that position he can take advantage of his intelligence, but first and foremost his ability to contribute offensively and score goals -- not to mention his capacity to find space between the lines and cover ground.
"For Chelsea, he's capable of scoring as many as Frank Lampard used to from that same role. At just 21 he comes with bags of experience, even from Champions League level. He's definitely ready to be an important piece in a new Chelsea top team."
Of course, scouts can be wrong but that description of Havertz is high praise indeed. Arsenal fans will hope that he was merely misprofiled during his time at Stamford Bridge, with a midfield role giving the 24-year-old the perfect platform to develop under Arteta's tutelage.
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