Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu marshalled the Gunners excellently well last summer to help them have a stellar transfer window. They spent £211m on four players, who have proven to be superb pieces of business for one reason or another.
Arsenal broke their club transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United for £105m, a deal which has proven to be excellent value for money, despite the large price tag. Many consider Rice to be one of the best number sixes in the Premier League this season.
They also signed David Raya on loan from Brentford and paid a loan fee of £3m. That is a move that is set to be made permanent, with the Bees receiving an extra £27m, meaning Raya will stay in north London for the foreseeable future.
Another excellent piece of business conducted by the Gunners was to bring in Ajax defender Jurrien Timber for £38m. Frustratingly, the Dutchman has been out injured for much of the season, after suffering a right knee injury. With that being said, he is set to return to first-team action before the end of the season.
However, there is one other piece of business conducted by Arsenal last summer that has proven to be an excellent deal for both the club and the player.
Kai Havertz’s transfer value at Arsenal in 2024
The player in question here is Germany international Kai Havertz. Arsenal signed Havertz from Chelsea for a fee of £65m, and many were sceptical about the move when it first went through. With that being said, Havterz has been wonderful in recent weeks and has settled in superbly to life in the red side of London.
Since joining the Gunners, Havertz has seen his transfer value skyrocket. According to CIES Football Observatory, the 24-year-old is now valued at £85m, already £20m more than what they paid Chelsea to sign him last summer.
Interestingly, Havertz’s value is one of the highest in the Arsenal squad. His valuation is the same as fellow summer signing Rice, as well as Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli and centre-back William Saliba. Only Bukayo Saka at £171m and Martin Odegaard at £128m are valued higher.
This high estimation is certainly reflective of Havertz’s excellent form in recent months, and both he and his manager Arteta should take credit for that, considering the opinion of many fans when the German signed for the club.
Kai Havertz’s season in numbers
The attacking midfielder’s excellent debut season at Arsenal did not necessarily start out in the same vein of form he is ending it in. The German struggled to find his feet at the Emirates Stadium and was at first playing in the midfield role that Granit Xhaka vacated last summer.
Since moving to play as a centre-forward under Arteta throughout the second half of the campaign, he has found his best form in front of goal. Havertz has scored 12 Premier League goals and registered six assists so far. Saka is the only Gunners player with more goal involvements, registering 24 in the Premier League, as per Sofascore.
In fact, Havertz is having one of the best years of his career so far. According to football statistician Statman Dave, this is Havertz’s joint second-best campaign in terms of pure goal involvements. He has equalled his tally from 2019/20, and is now two goal contributions away from equalling his best season, 2018/19.
Havertz is a player clearly rated by Arteta. Following the win against Tottenham, Arteta was full of praise for the German, explaining he was “sensational in every department” after the former Chelsea man managed to claim his first North London Derby goal.
There is little doubt that Arsenal’s signing of the £65m man last summer, orchestrated by Edu, has been a success. The 24-year-old has seen a huge rise in his transfer value, not that he will be leaving Arsenal, and has enjoyed a superb season individually.
He will now be hoping to help spur Arsenal on to win the Premier League.
