A big update has emerged on Arsenal and their efforts to lure Chelsea centre-forward Kai Havertz to The Emirates ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
What's the latest on Kai Havertz to Arsenal?
According to the Daily Mail, the Gunners have made a second offer to sign the German international after they had a £50m proposal turned down by their London rivals.
The report claims that Mikel Arteta's side have submitted a £60m bid, with a guaranteed £55m, in the hope of convincing the Blues to part ways with the talented attacker.
It states that they have the contract ready for the 24-year-old marksman as they are prepared to offer him at least £210k-per-week to make the switch across the city.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano followed up on this story by tweeting: "Understand deal could be done around £65m fee. Talks to follow. Havertz has been clear: he wants Arsenal move."
The reporter then added that a five-year deal is actually "already agreed" with the player and that the Gunners are hoping to strike an agreement with Chelsea this week.
Where would Havertz fit in at Arsenal?
The German maestro is far from a prolific number nine who will come in and lead the team to the Premier League title in the same way that Erling Halaand did for Manchester City.
However, Havertz could provide value to Arteta's side in a false nine role as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have shown that they have the quality to carry the goalscoring burden from out wide – they managed 29 top-flight goals combined last term.
He could be a Dennis Bergkamp-esque player for Arsenal in the sense that the 24-year-old magician could feature as more of a second-striker, with the Dutch legend having scored 118 goals and assisted 95 in 416 matches for the club.
In 2021, former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel compared the left-footed whiz to the former Arsenal star:
"I see a bit of Dennis Bergkamp, Robin Van Persie, [Dimitar] Berbatov kind of player. He can play in the half position because he has good runs, but also feels free from the nine and creates overload to one side."
Havertz has only scored 32 goals in 139 games for Chelsea but has showcased his ability to help the team in other, less direct, ways.
Over the last 365 days, the mercurial ace ranks in the top 9% or higher of players in his position in the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions for passes attempted, pass success rate, and progressive passes per 90.
This shows that Havertz excels at progressing the ball up the pitch and is actively involved in matches even when he is not on the scoresheet, which means that the £65m-rated marksman could thrive with two goalscoring wingers on either side of him in Arteta's system, as they would be able to provide direct running and goals to complement his playmaking.
