Arsenal’s Head coach Mikel Arteta has acknowledged Kai Havertz performance as “unbelievable” in their domineering victory over PSG on Tuesday.
According to reports, Kai Havertz looked like a spare part in Arsenal after his big-money move, twelve months ago from Chelsea but now the German forward is fully justifying his £65 million ($86 million) fees with a sensational start to the season.
Placing Arsenal on the path to a 2-0 home victory against Paris Saint Germain, PSG, in the Champions League with a well-timed run and header in the 20th minute.
After taking 10 games to score his first goal for Arsenal last season, he netted his fifth goal for the club this campaign and rightfully earned the man of the match award.
However, Arsenal manager Arteta, maintained strong confidence in Havertz despite his struggles last season.
"He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together," Arteta said.
"His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment," he added.
The night was rewarding for Arteta, as his team dominated one of Europe's powerhouses in the first half and then confidently contained them after the break.
"Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don't have the ball," coach Arteta said.
"The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story. We suffered much more than we should have done.
"The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well."
Arsenal has now been lifted to the eighth place in the 36-team table as a result of this victory, following a 0-0 draw against Atalanta previously.
Furthermore, Arteta mentioned that it was still too early to speculate on how many more wins his team would need for automatic qualification to the last 16.
"I'm not even looking at the table… But I think it will be a long journey."
Arsenal’s other advantage was witnessing newly signed Mikel Merino make his debut in the second half of the feat, coming off the bench after missing the start of the season due to injury.
Meanwhile, Arsenal full-back, Jurrien Timber was forced off at halftime with a muscle issue.
Speaking of the Dutchman who was sidelined the whole of his first season at the club with serious knee injury, Arteta said: "He was unbelievable in the first half, but he felt something muscular and he wasn't certain.”
"So, I didn't want to take any risks. He's been out for a year and he's played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks."
On the other hand, Arsenal took to their official X handle @Arsenal to post a video with the caption: “When you have players around you like these, it’s just a joy to play football.”
“Home is where the heart is for goal-hungry Havertz,” the caption read.
Kai Havertz has admitted that he feels so comfortable showcasing his talents in his side’s corner of north London, where he is adored by the Arsenal faithful.
