MADRID, 28 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
German international footballer Kai Havertz signed a “long-term” contract with Arsenal FC on Wednesday, having spent his last three seasons at London rival Chelsea FC, including a goal in the 2021 Champions League final to win the qualification.
“The 24-year-old has been a key player both at club and international level in recent seasons and already has 35 appearances for the German national team, scoring 13 times and representing his country in two major tournaments,” Arsenal said in a statement. their website.
Havertz grew up in the youth ranks at Bayer Leverkusen, where he signed his first professional contract in 2016. During his four years at Leverkusen, he made 150 appearances, scoring 46 goals and providing 31 assists. In October 2016, Havertz became the club’s youngest debutant in the German Bundesliga at 17 years and 126 days.
The ‘Gunners’ also underlined in their press release that Havertz “became the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history, scoring a late goal in a 3-3 draw against VfL Wolfsburg in April 2017.”
In the summer of 2020, Havertz reached the Premier League after signing for Chelsea. During his three seasons in West London he made 139 appearances, scoring 32 goals and making 15 assists in all competitions. In addition, he scored the only goal for Chelsea in their victory over Manchester City during the 2021 Champions League final.
“It’s very exciting for me to join this incredible club and be part of the Arsenal family. This club has a great history and I hope we can achieve many things,” Havertz himself told the official media of his new team.
Likewise, the German midfielder said that “the mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and it shows.” “That was one of the reasons why it has been so difficult to play against Arsenal recently,” he argued about it.
“The goal is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do it for the fans and for everyone at the club. Now I’m looking forward to meeting all the players and staff when we return for pre-season,” Havertz finally added.
His new coach, Spaniard Mikel Arteta, described Havertz as “a top quality player.” “He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a lot of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our game,” he underlined.
“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal FC and we are excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon,” Arteta stressed about a footballer who was in the orbit of Real Madrid, to replace Frenchman Karim Benzema .