What has happened to Arsenal’s Kai Havertz after rivalling Erling Haaland in October? | OneFootball

Kai Havertz’s sorry display for Arsenal against Manchester United summed up the Gunners’ lack of sparkle in front of goal this season — and Mikel Arteta couldn’t help but acknowledge their struggles.

“We didn’t get what we deserved. But there’s an element of putting the ball in the back of the net,” the Spaniard said

Havertz had a nightmare afternoon in the club’s FA Cup exit against Man United on penalties as the German international missed two big chances — both from close range — giving him an Expected Goals total of nearly 2.0. He then went on to miss Arsenal’s only penalty in the shootout after the scores ended 1-1 at the end of extra time.

Arsenal are crying out for a reliable No.9 this season and Havertz showed exactly why, after also firing a blank in the 0-2 EFL Cup semi-final loss to Newcastle United. The former Chelsea man is still the club’s leading goalscorer this season but only has seven goals in the Premier League.

He did have a decent spell in December where he netted twice over the Christmas period but Havertz has been lacking when the Gunners need him to step up ahead of a crucial north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur this week, after already losing fellow forwards Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri to injury.

Arteta refused to criticise the 25-year-old, saying he “loved” him and his teammates and insisted he could not ask more of the squad after a difficult run.

When asked what he said to Havertz after their loss, Arteta replied: “To him and to all of them, that I love them, that we all love them individually and as a team they are a joy.

“What this team produces every three days is incredible regardless of what happens. And I’m not going to lose sight of that because of our results or for two because we didn’t deserve those results.

“What can we do better, let’s try to do it. It’s very difficult to achieve. It’s an emotional part. It’s something related to confidence as well. But it’s very difficult to ask something else from our players.”

Havertz’s form now is a far cry to what he was producing for Arsenal earlier in the season, when his consistent displays led to fans mocking the idea that his transfer was “£60m down the drain”. He scored in four straight games in September and from the end of November to the end of of December — a period spanning eight games. He also had a purple patch by scoring five and assisting once.

The year on the whole was a special once for Havertz as he was involved in 19 goals in the Premier League. Only Cole Palmer (31), Erling Haaland (24) and Ollie Watkins (21) had been involved in more. By October, only Haaland (49) had more touches in the opposition box than the German (35), and when it came to non-penalty xG per 90 minutes, he was only bettered by his Norwegian rival on 0.91.

So how did he go from rivalling Haaland to his current predicament? Knee problems have been a constant theme for Havertz in his career and it became a thorn in his side again in late October — just after he was excelling for the Gunners. His next league goal wouldn’t come until 30th November, almost two months from his last one before the injury.

Havertz then suffered with illness towards the end of 2024, keeping him out for the opening two games of the new year. There’s no doubt these set-backs have disrupted his progress and hampered him when it comes to consistency. He scored seven big chances and missed nine, with 16 shots on target and 16 off target, giving him a shooting accuracy of just 41%.

With Arsenal now linked with a huge list of strikers this month — including Newcastle star Alexander Isak, PSG’s Randal Kolo Muani and Benjamin Sesko — Havertz could soon find himself out of the team if he can’t rediscover his old goalscoring form. Right now he is Arsenal’s primary hope of getting back in the title race.