Mikel Arteta admits even he could not have predicted the way in which Kai Havertz has turned round his Arsenal career.
Havertz scored the winner on Saturday evening as Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1 to go top of the Premier League.
The German has now scored four goals in his last four games and his fine form is a far cry from his struggles earlier this season.
Following his £65million move from Chelsea in the summer, Havertz had a difficult start and Arteta has been taken aback by the way he has won the fans over.
“I’m so happy,” said Arteta. “If somebody told me after the first two or three months that the whole stadium would be singing his song with that passion, with that feeling, with that chemistry, I would have found it hard to believe.
“That’s what happens to good people. He’s an exceptional player. When he starts to score goals like this and everything starts to flow people feel more connected with him.
“They see his work rate, they see his intelligence, they see how he plays for the team and how he’s contributing. It’s impossible not to love him.”
Havertz’s winner for Arsenal came in the 86th minute and, before that, they had been on course to drop two points.
Brentford were holding them to a 1-1 draw, with Yoane Wissa cancelling out Declan Rice’s opener.
Wissa’s goal came after an error from Ramsdale, who was caught in possession, and Arteta says the Arsenal squad wanted to win for their goalkeeper.
Ramsdale improved in the second-half and made two excellent saves to keep out Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins.
“Errors are part of football,” said Arteta. “It’s how you react to it, especially for the keepers which is probably the most difficult position.
“He did so in an amazing way. I’m not surprised because the whole team and the whole stadium was behind him. He has earned that respect and admiration. We really wanted to win for him.”
