da cassino： The Gunners are crazy to be spending up to £65 million on a dire finisher who is nowhere near as good as any of their starting forwards

da fezbet： About halfway through last season, Andy Townsend was asked about Chelsea's goalscoring problems during an interview with and confessed that he didn't "quite get" Kai Havertz. It was a wholly understandable admission. The Germany international is one of the European game's most curious players.

We're talking about a 24-year-old who has already scored winning goals in the finals of both the Champions League and the Club World Cup – and yet is renowned for his poor finishing and lack of a fixed position. Nobody seems very sure of what kind of player Havertz, or whether Chelsea's £75 million ($96m) signing from Bayer Leverkusen is even any good.

And the debate over the attacker's true value has only intensified in recent days, after it emerged that Arsenal are about to commit to spending up to £65m ($83m) to sign him.

Getty ImagesArsenal's more pressing concerns

A small section of supporters called for caution, arguing that Mikel Arteta has clearly seen something in Havertz that many others have not. Others were outraged, though, wondering what on earth Arsenal are doing even entertaining the idea of signing a player who has scored just 19 times in 91 Premier League appearances. The one thing that united the fanbase was a sense of shock, though, because nobody saw this coming, and it's easy to understand why.

Arsenal's brave bid to dethrone Manchester City as the champions of England didn't collapse because of a lack of an attacking threat from midfield or out wide. They scored 88 goals last season – just six fewer than Erling Haaland & Co.

No, Arsenal were ultimately punished for their defensive deficiencies, which were brutally exposed following William Saliba's season-ending injury. The Frenchman's absence, coupled with the mental and physical fatigue caused by trying to fend off City, resulted in costly draws and losses down the home stretch.

So, Arsenal's determination to sign a centre-back and a right-back this summer makes perfect sense. As does their interest in a winger to provide back-up for Bukayo Saka, who tired during the closing stages of the 2022-23 campaign, a replacement for Granit Xhaka and a top-class defensive midfielder to provide the back four with great protection.

AdvertisementGettyHavertz any better than Smith Rowe?

The hope is that the latter role will be filled by Declan Rice. Given the England international is held in the highest esteem, not only at West Ham, but also in Manchester, Arsenal are likely to have to pay around £100m ($128m) for the 24-year-old. Is Rice really worth such a fee? Maybe not, but he would be to Arsenal – and that's all that matters at the end of the day.

However, given it's going to take a colossal amount of cash to make that transfer happen, Arsenal's willingness to pay even £50m ($64m) – their opening bid – for Havertz is utterly baffling. The Gunners are not backed by a Gulf state, meaning that the eventual fee that they will pay for a player who would not walk straight into Arteta's starting line up is astronomical.

Indeed, the question has to be asked as to whether Havertz is as good as any other attacker that Arsenal presently have at their disposal. How much would he actually add to this team? Emile Smith Rowe couldn't get in the side last season – would Havertz fare any better?

GettyHavertz the new Zidane…

There is no doubting Havertz's potential. It's been obvious since he broke into the Leverkusen line-up at 17 and began breaking one club record after another. There was huge and wholly justified excitement surrounding a kid that missed the second leg of a Champions League last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid because he had to sit a school exam.

Lothar Matthaus, arguably the most complete midfielder in football history, called Havertz the most talented player to emerge in Germany for decades, even going so far as to compare him to the great Zinedine Zidane.

"He has set the bar very high – for me he was the player of the [2018-19] season," Matthaus told magazine. "If Havertz can maintain this high standard, with his natural talent, cleverness, presence on the pitch, and goal threat, then he could someday follow me as world footballer of the year."

Five years on, though, he looks nothing like a Ballon d'Or winner.

GettyAdmired by Madrid

There was a brief spell in March and April of last year when it appeared as if Thomas Tuchel may have successfully unlocked Havertz. He netted five goals in five Premier League games, and also scored against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti was certainly impressed, as he asked Florentino Perez to try to sign Havertz last summer.

Talk of a transfer to Santiago Bernabeu resurfaced following Karim Benzema's shock exit, but it is believed that Madrid were put off by Chelsea's asking price – and Arsenal should be too.