Kai Havertz returns to the ground where his Arsenal career finally kickstarted and Mikel Arteta couldn’t be happier with the progression of his £65million signing.
An arrival from London rivals Chelsea in the summer of 2023, the German - who is set to be available for selection against Bournemouth after withdrawing from international duty - did not have the best of starts to life in N5.
Struggling to adapt to a midfield role, the 25-year-old lacked confidence and there were signs inside the Emirates Stadium, particularly against Fulham and Manchester City, that supporters were already growing frustrated with the big-money recruit.
Fast forward to September 2023 and the Gunners' 4-0 win over this weekend's opponents. From Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka's classy gesture to hand Havertz a penalty to score his first competitive goal for the club to the way his teammates and supporters inside the Vitality Stadium reacted to his goal, there was no doubt everyone was willing him to succeed.
And, credit to Havertz, he has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Firmly establishing himself as Arsenal's centre-forward, he played a key role in the back end of last season as Arteta's side narrowly missed out on the Premier League title, he has continued to find the back of the net with such frequency this season, scoring in every single home game across all competitions.
Acknowledging it was a big risk to splash the cash on the former Bayer Leverkusen ace following a overall disappointing spell with Chelsea - Champions League final winning goal aside - Arteta admits he is delighted the Arsenal number 29 has overcome a difficult start to be in a great place presently,
"We believed that he could do it. He had qualities that we were certainly lacking but it was a big question mark because he wasn’t producing what we required at this level a year ago, two years ago," the Spaniard said in a news conference.
"We believed that a change of environment could affect him in a really positive way. You have a player that is going to try his very best to try and accomplish the objectives and then you have to make it work. It was a difficult start, but at the moment we’re in a great place."
Whilst Havertz has been in fine form at the Emirates Stadium, he is yet to find the back of the net away from home so far this season with the Bournemouth game providing a chance to break the duck.
