Kai Havertz reveals the moment that changed his Arsenal career and hails captain Martin Odegaard for ‘stepping up’ as a leader after returning from injury

Kai Havertz hailed the leadership qualities of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and revealed the exact moment that changed his Gunners career after a tough start at the club.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta urged the club to splash out £65m to their London rivals for Havertz in the summer of 2023 and originally faced scrutiny as the German struggled to settle.

It took 10 games for the one-time Chelsea Champions League winning hero to open his account in north London amid a run of difficult performances and has since gone on to be an integral figure for the title challengers.

Havertz went on to score 13 league goals during a stellar first season at the club and the playmaker revealed despite there being initial doubt from outsiders over his move, he knew it was only a matter of time until better fortunes returned.

The first of his strikes came from the penalty spot in Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth on the south coast last season as the 25-year-old was given the ball in a show of leadership by Odegaard.

Now, Havertz has revealed the importance his first goal has had on his Gunners career, telling The Men In Blazers YouTube channel: ‘It [the penalty] helped me a lot it was very important to me because when you come to a club and you know they pay a lot of money for you, you feel under pressure a bit.

‘I’m the kind of person who always needs some time to adapt ,not only to the playing style but also the people here .

‘It took a while again but I was confident I could turn it around. I know on the outside it seemed a bit strange but for me on the inside It was clear my time was going to come. 

‘I just worked hard and believed in myself, I’m glad I have such good team-mates who gave me this penalty to get some confidence and the rest went quite well last season,’ he added

Havertz’ rise to form under Arteta’s guidance has coincided with him playing his best football alongside Odegaard.

The Arsenal skipper has only just returned from a long injury stint on the sidelines and Havertz explained why there is such a big difference in the team’s performances when Odegaard is playing.  

Havertz stated: ‘He [Odegaard] is very  important to us, he is the captain, someone that speaks a lot to us in the dressing room and on the pitch. 

‘Someone that doesn’t only step up with words but steps up with good actions, taking the ball on the pitch in bad situations and that’s very important to us.

‘You just feel when he’s on the pitch and not on the pitch and he gives us so many different things with the ball and without the ball.

‘When we press the goalkeeper or defenders he is the first who goes there and sprints at them. We are all very happy he is back and we have him back on the pitch, said the Arsenal star.