"Please draw your own conclusions" - Pundit questions Arsenal's decision to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea in the summer

Former player and pundit Graeme Souness has put Arsenal's summer acquisition of Kai Havertz from Chelsea under the microscope.

The 24-year-old moved to the Emirates Stadium for a whopping £65 million but has yet to find his footing. Deployed in the midfield by manager Mikel Arteta, the German forward has failed to register any goal contributions in seven appearances across all competitions.

His lack of impact was evident in matches against Fulham and Manchester United. He was then notably benched during Arsenal's 1-0 victory at Everton last weekend.

Yet, Havertz made a comeback to the starting line-up for the Gunners' UEFA Champions League opener this Wednesday (September 20). Writing in his Daily Mail column, Souness questioned the rationale behind the Gunners' significant financial outlay for Havertz. He wrote:

"Not all of Arsenal’s spending makes sense to me. They’ve laid out £65million on Kai Havertz. Surely you’re not spending that kind of money on what he’s shown at Chelsea in the past three seasons?"

"They’ve shelled out in the hope that Mikel Arteta can get a very, very different tune out of him than Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel or Graham Potter ever did. Good luck with that one, Mikel."

Souness pointed out the glaring lack of numbers in Havertz's case. He argued that traditional metrics remain unambiguous, and the German forward's track record has cast a shadow on the Gunners' investment:

"For a striker: how many games have you played and how many goals did you score? Havertz has scored 19 Premier League goals across the entirety of three seasons for Chelsea. Please draw your own conclusions."

Havertz scored 32 goals and provided 15 assists in 139 games for Chelsea, playing majorly as a centre-forward.

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Arsenal and Chelsea join Real Madrid in chase for Dusan Vlahovic

Reports from Italian media outlet Il Bianconero (via The Hard Tackle) indicate that Arsenal, Chelsea, and Real Madrid have their sights set on Dusan Vlahovic. The 23-year-old Serbian striker could potentially exit Juventus in the 2024 transfer window.

The player has had an oscillating career trajectory since his move from Fiorentina to Juventus in January 2022. Once lauded as one of Serie A's rising stars during his time at Fiorentina, Vlahovic's performance with Juventus has been a mixed bag.

His first season with the Turin-based club can only be described as underwhelming. Vlahovic netted just 14 goals in 42 games across all competitions, a far cry from the lofty standards he had set for himself while at La Viola.

However, the striker has made an impactful start to the 2023-24 season, finding the back of the net four times and providing an assist in just four appearances. This turnaround has reignited interest from several top-tier clubs, including Premier League powerhouses Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as La Liga titans Real Madrid.

Notably, Vlahovic was heavily linked with Arsenal during the 2021 January transfer window before he decided to join Juventus instead.