Breaking News: After Mikel Arteta’s transfer decision, Arsenal sent a clear $44 million message.

News from Arsenal: Mikel Arteta sends a message following Kai Havertz’s goal to defeat Brentford

The call from Mikel Arteta is beginning to pay off. Although there is uncertainty and inconsistency, the effects are being felt. His strongest suit is functioning, albeit not in the manner that most had anticipated.

For much of his time in England, Kai Havertz has not lived up to the nickname “silky German,” as Chelsea supporters dubbed him after the team won the Champions League in 2021. The phrase “pretty good heading, slightly odd German with a lot of averageness” doesn’t sound quite as good in chant, though.

It really doesn’t matter to Arteta because, for the time being at least, he has found Havertz a role. Surprisingly, his positional demand is more akin to Peter Crouch’s than it is to Michael Ballack’s, Zinedine Zidane’s, or Dennis Bergkamp’s, players he has previously been compared to.

Arteta turned to Gabriel Jesus, who had returned from yet another extended absence, in the Brentford match. With their movements, output, and Arsenal fit, the two are completely different—tall and small, silky and frequently clumsy. It’s a story in and of itself that Havertz wasn’t really taken off the field until ten minutes or so before the game ended, fifteen minutes after Jesus had left. Above all, this proved that the industrial approach was required, despite the Spanish boss’s preference for control.

Havertz is no longer regarded as the impact player who can ghost a run through a defense to expose it; that was primarily Eddie Nketiah’s job. Rather, the 24-year-old is a formidable opponent for the ball. After joining the team in the summer for more than £60 million ($75 million), he got right to it and scored the team’s first goal from open play. A big deal for Havertz perhaps, but also probably a passing fad.

He hasn’t used his feet to score a league goal in open play in eight months. This is part of the reason Arteta was so eager to use Havertz, who was signed over the summer, as a midfielder, or at least a little deeper, but he lacks the necessary physicality, speed, and all-around passing ability to play that position.

Nketiah up front is more deadly when it comes to finishing, Declan Rice drives from deeper with greater speed, purpose, and efficacy, Martin Odegaard can dribble better and tighter and then provide deft touches around and inside the area. Even though Havertz has had some success over the previous three years and is a player of moments, the experiment is still not really working.

Moving him back 30 yards won’t make much of a difference if he lacks the self-assurance or physical attributes to play up front, as his attacking play has demonstrated. It is difficult to think that Arteta saw him as a striker and that he was supposed to be a super sub similar to Olivier Giroud. If he is a midfield player, the summertime profiling was incredibly inaccurate and out of control.

Everything gives off the impression that something went wrong. Havertz was able to demonstrate his ability and let loose in a competitive team at Arsenal, something he was not able to do at Chelsea. But he still faces challenges, and a significant question in the mold of Folarin Balogun remains.

Havertz’s future as an Arsenal midfielder (or at least how frequently) may need to be reexamined, as may the summer transfer window’s optics. Even in that role, where he is essentially playing as an occupational striker, he is currently third choice, and even then, it is not a natural position. More than a game-changer, he is the last resort for desperate situations.

A player who had just scored more than 20 goals in the league was allowed to leave Arsenal over the summer. Balogun may feel particularly unfairly treated because he never really seemed to want to stay. Balogun had Jesus and Nketiah ahead of him already during his Ligue 1 debut campaign at Stade de Reims last year, but he offered a different profile as he searched for first team football—something that was demanded.

Among all of them, Havertz included, he is the youngest at 22 and the most natural finisher. There is every indication that his output would have been the same, if not more, if he had been in Nketiah’s position. When it comes to breaking down low-blocks with his feet and head, Balogun is a real answer to many questions as Arteta juggles injuries and fitness across the frontline, occasionally shifting Jesus to the right and even playing without Bukayo Saka when he’s not ready.

It is important to recognize how detrimental this decision may end up being as Havertz was let go by Arsenal for less than £35 million ($44 million). As the gaps between his ability and his quality widen, Havertz was let go. Balogun, who moved to Monaco permanently, has scored four goals this season while still learning a new language. In just seven league starts, he has scored those goals as well.

With three in eight games for the USMNT, his form is impressive. Not many players in his age group have had the kind of last eighteen months that he has. But it hasn’t stopped him from returning to Havertz’s aid. The current Arsenal forward posted the following on Instagram following the match: “HUGE victory away from home! I appreciate all of your help [red heart emoji]. Now to get ready for another big game.”

One of many who responded was Balogun, who merely posted an icy face emoji in the comments. Before Balogun was eventually sold to Monaco, the two were collaborating during the preseason, and in some ways, Havertz’s arrival signaled the end of Balogun’s time in north London.