Havertz: 'Fans only care about goals and assists'

Arsenal striker Kai Havertz believes that fans now only care about statistics on goals and assists and do not value collective play or individual performance.

Havertz moved from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 for a total transfer fee of 82 million USD, a weekly salary of 265,000 USD and was expected to help strengthen Arsenal's attack. However, since then he has only scored five goals and one assist in all competitions.

According to Havertz, this is not a good record for an attacking player, but also affirmed that in football there are many factors other than just scoring. "I think that is the current situation, people do not watch the matches, they only watch the goals and assists. If no one scores, the team had a bad match," he said on Sky Sports on February 8. "But I did not start playing football for this. Obviously scoring goals is the best thing, I like that, but there are many other things that you have to do in the game."

Kai Havertz celebrates scoring the winning goal in a 2-0 win over Brighton in round 17 of the Premier League at Emirates Stadium on December 17, 2023. Photo: Reuters — Kai Havertz celebrates scoring the winning goal in a 2-0 win over Brighton in round 17 of the Premier League at Emirates Stadium on December 17, 2023. Photo: *Reuters*

Arsenal ended 2023 with two consecutive defeats - losing 0-2 to West Ham and 1-2 to Fulham in the Premier League, then started 2024 with another 0-2 loss to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup. But then they won three consecutive Premier League matches, defeating Crystal Palace 5-0, Nottingham Forest 2-1 and Liverpool 3-1, to get back into the title race.

Havertz believes Arsenal have had many good games and important victories in the first half of the season, but the title race is long and unpredictable. "I hope we can win titles," the former Chelsea player said. "I think Arsenal have the quality to do that. But it's obviously a long way to go. We are giving our all to win titles and hopefully we can complete the goal by the end of the season."

Although he excels at attacking, in reality, since joining Arsenal, Havertz has been moved deeper by coach Mikel Arteta, often combining with the central midfield duo Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. As a result, the 24-year-old has had to participate more in defense. Havertz insists he is not dissatisfied, but is trying to integrate well with the playing style of his new club.

"Before, I used to focus a lot on attacking, but defending is also an important part so I worked hard to improve that," Havertz said. "I got used to all the Arsenal players, the style of football and now I feel very comfortable in the team, which is good."

On his partnership with Odegaard and Rice, the 24-year-old said: "We are all young and it's great to play with them. They are all top players and we are still trying to get better at playing together. We have only played together for five months, and hopefully we will have a bright future."

In a deeper role, Havertz had to receive the ball with his back turned more often and had to move and run in different directions. In particular, he made a difference many times with his chances of receiving the ball at the far post. Typically, a close-range header from Bukayo Saka's cross in the 89th minute helped Arsenal win 1-0 at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium in late November 2023. The German also put the ball in the net in a similar situation against Aston Villa, but the goal was disallowed for a controversial handball.

"I'm a player who always wants to attack the box, wants to make those runs and I think it's important sometimes, not even to touch the ball, to finish, but to create space for my team-mates," Havertz said. "So I like to make those runs and I think they're always important for the team's play."

Hong Duy

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