KAI HAVERTZ has buried his critics with a jaw-dropping stat.
The striker led Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain by scoring for a SIXTH successive game at the Emirates.
Arsenal striker Kai Havertz had a swagger about him as he celebrated his opener against PSG in Tuesday’s 2-0 home Champions League win[/caption]
Havertz showed PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma he was up to the challenge as he continued his remarkable Emirates run with a brave goal[/caption]
Robin van Persie, seen here rejoicing with Theo Walcott, scored for a record seven games in a row at the Emirates 13 seasons ago[/caption]
Only Robin Van Persie has done it more times in a row – seven in 2011-12 – immediately before the Dutchman joined Manchester United.
And Havertz‘s brave header in Tuesday’s Champions League triumph showed how he’s become a stand-out star in one of this season’s most incredible individual transformations.
Bought from Chelsea as a £65million midfielder in July 2023, he suddenly looks the natural centre-forward his Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta has long craved.
Havertz and Bukayo Saka struck at the peak of Arsenal‘s first-half superiority against PSG.
And the way the 25-year-old leapt to beat PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma even had shades of an old-fashioned British targetman – far removed from the player who flickered in and out of games and finished so erratically for Chelsea.
Arteta himself raved about the German after his dogged, dynamic display in leading the line.
The Spaniard told Amazon Prime: “He has been unbelievable.
“His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together.
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“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.”
The Gunners now have four points from two Champions League games, without conceding a goal.
But suddenly it’s Havertz at the other end who is making the difference.
Now, on Saturday, he has what appears a dream opportunity to equal Van Persie’s record of netting seven matches in a row at the Emirates.
Third-placed Arsenal are at home to sieve-like Southampton.
The newly-promoted Saints have let in 12 goals in picking up just one point from their first six games.
A goal would also take Havertz ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor (2007-08) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2019), who matched his six trick.
Few would have bet on Havertz achieving his current feat at the start of the season.
Now few would bet against him equalling RVP’s landmark figure.
