This Arsenal star faced waves of criticism upon signing for the club in June 2023, forcing one of his Gunners team-mates to rally around him
Arsenal ace Jorginho has spoken out about the support he offered team-mate Kai Havertz after the German was criticised upon his north London arrival.
On the back of a successful three-year spell in the capital’s west with Chelsea – including a Champions League winning goal under now-England boss Thomas Tuchel – Havertz switched to the north in 2023 for £65million.
However, the German failed to hit the ground running, registering zero goal contributions in his first six league games whilst not making it clear where exactly he slotted into Mikel Arteta’s side.
Since these early struggles, Havertz has kicked on, being deployed as a centre-forward while creating an abundance of goals. Yet, his peer Jorginho – who also played with the 25-year-old at Stamford Bridge – opened up about what has seen Havertz go from strength to strength and the comfort he required when enduring a torrid start.
“He is just an unbelievable player,” Jorginho told Rio Ferdinand on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. “At the beginning, when people were hammering him, I was like, ‘What are they talking about? Is this really happening, I can’t believe it.’”
After failing to find the back of the net early in his Gunners tenure, Havertz ended the campaign with 13 in total, including four consecutive matches with a goal between February and March this year.
“I was like, ‘Oh my days’. Actually, I went to Kai a few times, and I was like, ‘Kai, don’t listen, forget about it, you know what you can do.’ This was crazy,” Jorginho continued. “How much he helps the team the way he plays. For me, the big improvement since he came to the Premier League is how tough he is getting every day. It’s like he’s getting tougher and tougher.
“Now, he is at a place that is unbelievable. The confidence that he has, the confidence that he gives the team as well. He is so clever; he puts his body always in the best positions and always has a solution. He finds solutions in situations that you don’t believe he’s gonna come out of.”
Despite Arsenal’s less-than-ideal run of form – drawing their last two ties and losing more ground on Chelsea, as well as failing to capitalise on lapses by league-leaders Liverpool – Havertz still has five league goals to his name this season.
“He’s just a baller. A big one,” Jorginho concluded. “He came at the beginning. He was getting kicks and kicks and kicks, and he reacted. Then, next time, he was putting his foot in, getting angry if things weren’t going his way. He is just becoming better and better every day.”
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