Kai Havertz has divided a lot of opinion since joining Arsenal from Chelsea last summer.
Even though the German international struggled at times at Chelsea, Mikel Arteta was in no doubt that he wanted him at the Emirates.
Arsenal put down big money for the player and, at the time,
from his new fanbase, some were questioning the deal.
But people’s opinions on Kai Havertz quickly changed, especially when he was playing center-forward during the second half of last season.
You even had Jamie Carragher singing Arsenal fans’ ‘catchy’ song for Havertz,
as he proceeded to score 13 Premier League goals and seven assists in his debut campaign.
Even Ange Postecoglou was spitting the truth about Havertz at Euro 2024,
with his German side getting knocked out by eventual winners Spain.
Despite that backing and those performances, some are still questioning the player ahead of the new season.
Craig Burley thinks Arsenal need to ‘replace Havertz’ as he questioned if the Gunners have any money to do so, as he told ESPN.
Sources have told HITC that Arsenal have agreed a fee in principle with Bologna to sign Riccardo Calafiori.
But Burley thinks they need to look at their forward line as well,
not just the defense, as he mentioned the name of Ivan Toney to possibly come in.
Ivan Toney to replace Kai Havertz at Arsenal
“There is no doubt that Arsenal are going to be the team to go again,” said Burley. “Until they dethrone this Man City side, Martinelli was a little inconsistent at times last season
and he did make some changes in that position. Trossard did a very good job coming in.
“Will he look to back up those positions? And will he look to back up, and is there any money available to go out and replace Kai Havertz? With somebody who is playing every week there. Ivan Toney was mentioned last year, there have been others.
“But I do feel if they are going to beat Man City, it’s not just the back of the field and the midfield. They are going to have to look at the left-hand side and definitely, somebody who is going to do what people get paid the biggest bucks to do and put the ball into the back of the net.”
Arsenal’s forward line
Even though Arsenal was the second-highest goalscorer last term with 91 goals, pundits are still crying for that bonafide striker.
This isn’t about the individual, but the system. Arsenal’s system under Arteta scores enough goals. They just need more depth and to iron out those very fine details.
At the end of the day, they are up against the might of Manchester City and they have won four in a row for a reason.
Yes, Toney is available for transfer with his Brentford contract having 12 months remaining on it.