Kai Havertz: Arsenal’s overlooked aerial threat? | OneFootball

There is a compelling argument that Kai Havertz is quickly becoming Arsenal‘s most influential player, which would have seemed absurd a year ago.

The current consensus states that Bukayo Saka holds that distinction, with William Saliba not too far behind. However, when looking at some underlying numbers, Havertz is making a significant contribution that often goes underreported, unlike the raw numbers he’s producing, which have earned him widespread applause.

He recently became the first Arsenal player to score in seven consecutive home appearances in all competitions since Robin van Persie did so between December 2011 and March 2012. Additionally, the versatile German international has scored and assisted in five different fixtures in 2024, which is the most by an Arsenal player in a single calendar year since Van Persie accomplished this feat in 2011, doing so six times.

Like his Dutch predecessor, both have a sweet left foot, but as many have started to notice, Havertz can be a handful in the air. Of his 13 strikes in 2024, three have come via his head. But that’s not all this season alone he finds himself in the 95th percentile when compared to all Premier League players in the following metrics per 90 minutes: headed expected goals (0.17), goals scored from headers (0.14), post-shot expected goals from headers (0.34), shots from headers (1.43), and aerial duels won (4). In fact, Havertz ranks first in post-shot expected goals from headers and is only behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin (5.29) in aerial duels won.

Havertz currently has a Squawka “aerial threat score” of 92%, which is the highest among all Arsenal players. This is remarkable considering that many would cite teammate Gabriel Magalhães as the club’s deadliest aerial presence, with good reason. Havertz’s rating is second only to Aston Villa’s super-sub Jhon Durán, who is two percentage points ahead. This rating is based on statistical leaders for metrics relevant to all positions.

If we expand our analysis to include the start of last season, Kai Havertz’s drops to fifth place (90%) with Gabriel (91%) in second place behind Chris Wood (92%). During this period, only Ollie Watkins (7) has scored more headed goals than Gabriel (6), while Havertz has contested more aerial duels than every active Premier League player except Calvert-Lewin. This highlights an aspect of his game that is rarely discussed.

In the Gunners’ most recent Champions League match, they emerged as 2-0 winners over PSG at home. Havertz scored the opening goal with a header after 20 minutes, beating PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a cross. “He looks like he is enjoying it more,” former England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer commented on Amazon Prime. “He doesn’t mind the battle, he doesn’t mind dropping into the hole. The most important part is that he got his goal; he was really brave and got his reward for going in there.”

Shearer pointed out that Havertz is not afraid to engage in challenges, despite the previous perception of him being the opposite. The numbers support this. Since the start of last season (2023/24), only five active Premier League players have won more aerial duels (133) than Havertz, and four of them are centre-backs, with Calvert-Lewin leading the pack. When focusing on centre-forwards, Calvert-Lewin (37) and Dominic Solanke (36) have more headed clearances than Havertz (27).

We should have seen this coming, with Havertz demonstrating his aerial prowess at his former Premier League club, Chelsea. Ten of his 32 goals for the Blues in all competitions were from headers. Standing at 6ft 2in, Havertz is naturally very good in the air. He intelligently attacks space inside the box and has excellent timing when looking to get on the end of crosses. This has encouraged a greater variety of crosses at Arsenal. Since the beginning of the 2023/24 season, no team has scored more headed goals (20) than Arsenal, with the next-best team, Brighton, five goals shy of their output.