Kai Havertz completes £65m move to Arsenal from Chelsea as the Germany forward becomes Mikel Arteta’s first signing of the summer
Arsenal have completed the signing of Chelsea forward Kai Havertz for a £65million fee.
The German becomes Mikel Arteta’s first signing of the summer as the Spaniard looks to push on after the Gunners’ second place finish last season.
Havertz moved to Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen for £75m back in 2020 after breaking through and starring for the Bundesliga side.
He has been a regular at Stamford Bridge, featuring across the front-line, and he spent most of last season as the Blues’ striker amid their struggles up-front.
In total, Havertz racked up 139 appearances for the club, scoring 32 goals and adding 15 assists.
Chelsea and Germany forward Kai Havertz, 24, has completed his £65m move to Arsenal
Havertz is Mikel Arteta’s first signing of the summer as he looks to strengthen for next season
Havertz (centre) scored 32 goals and added 15 assists in 139 appearances for the Blues – he netted the winner in their Champions League final victory over Manchester City in 2021
He will be most remembered for netting the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final when the Blues won the European Cup for the second time in their history thanks to a 1-0 victory over Man City.
During the 2022-23 campaign, Havertz contributed seven goals and one assist in 35 Premier League games.
In an open letter to Chelsea fans on Wednesday, Havertz tweeted: ‘I would have preferred for you to hear my thoughts on leaving Chelsea first from myself before my thoughts on me joining my new team.
‘This isn’t my style and it upsets me that you had to hear of it in this way.
‘I write this letter with a heavy heart to all the fans.
‘A big thank you for all your support, we achieved a dream of winning the Champions League together!’
Arteta is reportedly planning to use the German as a left-sided No 8 in midfield, while he also sees him as an option across the attack which will be important ahead of the Gunners’ return to the Champions League next season.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca last week, the Arsenal boss explained why he was keen on Havertz.
He said: ‘Kai has already shown a lot, including winning a Champions League. He is a talented, versatile player and only 24 years old.
He was criticised for a lack of consistency in front of goal amid Chelsea’s struggles last year
‘Talent has a price and, at Arsenal, we are always interested in young players with experience.
‘Again, I’m not talking about players from other clubs, but, in the case of Kai, he has already shown a lot, including a Champions League.
‘He is a talented, versatile player and he is only 24 years old.’
Havertz – who has also scored 13 times in 37 games for his country – was often criticised for a lack of consistency at the Blues, but will no doubt bring significant quality to Arsenal as they aim to close the gap on Pep Guardiola’s Treble-winning side.
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