KAI HAVERTZ has completed his £65million transfer to Arsenal from rivals Chelsea.
But he looks set to feature in a new position under Mikel Arteta.
Kai Havertz has joined Arsenal for £65m
Havertz will wear the No29 at the Emirates
The Gunners confirmed the deal this evening – just moments after also agreeing to sign Declan Rice for £105m.
And the German will wear his beloved No29 shirt – after having the number at Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea.
Havertz, 24, said: “It’s super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family.
“This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things. The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that.
“That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.
“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club.
“I’m now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”
Havertz played for three years at Stamford Bridge, where he scored the winning goal in the Champions League final and later won the Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Arteta did, however, imply that he might be prepared to transition into a new position at the Emirates after having played as a forward for Chelsea, typically as a striker.
Manager Mikel Arteta added: “Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player.
“He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.
“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”
Havertz could be playing in the Arsenal midfield
In 139 games for the Blues, Havertz scored 32 goals while playing for four different Chelsea managers, including two stints under Frank Lampard.
The most significant of those was his iconic finish in Lisbon two years ago against Manchester City, when the West Londoners were proclaimed Kings of Europe.
The German scored the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final