How a pity penalty ignited Kai Havertz’s Arsenal career: German was struggling for form and confidence before Bukayo Saka handed him a spot-kick… now Mikel Arteta’s love has paid off

It was just over a year ago at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium that the struggling Kai Havertz was handed a pity penalty.

Arsenal, who travel to Bournemouth again on Saturday, were 2-0 up and cruising towards victory when Martin Odegaard won a penalty. Bukayo Saka initially stepped forward to take it, before captain Odegaard sidled over, put his hand over his mouth and instructed Saka to let Havertz take the kick instead.

Pressure had been growing on the £65million signing from Chelsea to net his first Arsenal goal, after missed sitters in big games including an air shot against Manchester City.

Saka obliged, handing the ball to Havertz. The German took his time placing it on the spot, stared at it — then slotted it smartly past goalkeeper Neto.

Before that moment, Havertz’s price tag had been mocked and the doubters were circling. Fast-forward a year and Havertz is one of the first names on the Arsenal team-sheet and scoring goals for fun. 

His first for Arsenal came on the south coast with a penalty handed to him by Bukayo Saka

Mikel Arteta found a player with a high ceiling and showed him the love he needed at the club

But despite those early struggles — the Bournemouth match was his 10th in an Arsenal shirt — manager Mikel Arteta was always convinced Havertz had a high ceiling, provided he started feeling loved and embraced as part of the Arsenal family.

That’s why a theme of nurture was heavily emphasised when the Spaniard persuaded Havertz to leave Chelsea. Encouragement from former Blues team-mate Jorginho helped, too.

Sixteen months after joining Arsenal, the 25-year-old has struck in seven consecutive matches at the Emirates to equal Robin van Persie’s record — and is putting in hound-like shifts off the ball, which has endeared him to both his team-mates and fans.

On Saturday, he returns to where he kickstarted his Arsenal career, after a start which had split the Gunners fanbase. Some were calling for patience, others bemoaned the £65m spent on a player who had hardly taken the league by storm at Chelsea.

It was during Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United — just their fourth game of the season — when the fans’ reservations first became apparent. There were groans around the Emirates after the German’s slack pass in midfield was latched on to by Christian Eriksen. The Dane passed to Marcus Rashford, who put Manchester United 1-0 up.

Havertz’s work rate off the ball has been just as important for Arsenal as his ability on it

For Arsenal this season, he has covered the most distance (77km), won the most aerial duels (28) and had the joint-highest number of clearances aside from defenders

A key ingredient is confidence – and away from the pitch he is a different man to on it

Declan Rice completed the turnaround in stoppage time, putting Arsenal ahead, before Gabriel Jesus added a third.

But that afternoon puts into context how far Havertz has come since then. His 13-goal tally for Arsenal in 2024 is the best of any player at the club, while his seven assists are matched by Odegaard and Rice, and only bettered by Saka (10).

His work-rate off the ball has been just as important for the Gunners. In the league this season, Havertz has covered the most distance (77km), won the most aerial duels (28) and has the joint-highest number of clearances aside from the defenders (14, alongside Thomas Partey).

He throws himself around and willingly drops deep, knowing that dragging opponents out of position will open up chances for team-mates such as Saka and Leandro Trossard.

The key feature in Havertz’s rejuvenation is confidence. The forward needs an arm around the shoulder, which belies his physique and temperament on the pitch. The 6ft 3in forward has an aggressive style of play, but could not be more different away from the game.

When Mail Sport asked for the key to Havertz’s turnaround, Arteta replied: ‘Love — he’s a player that needs a lot of love. He needs to feel protected, he needs to feel the chemistry around him. He’s one of the most likeable guys I’ve met in football and in my life.

‘He gives so much to everybody, so he needs that connection with the people. He got that from ourselves, and the moment he started to get (that) from our supporters, I think that gave him a different dimension, a different confidence, and now we see the player he is.’

Havertz is known for a deep and abiding love of animals – with donkey sanctuaries a particular charitable cause

The Arsenal star has a number of dogs himself and is a grounded family-orientated personality

The 25-year-old married his wife Sophia in July at Bensberg Castle in their native Germany

Club sources say Havertz is a smiley character with a great love for animals — particularly donkeys. Animal welfare is a focus of the projects supported by his charity, the Kai Havertz Stiftung. He has showered praise on donkey park Eselpark Zons in Dormagen, Germany — a sanctuary run by Peter and Darinka Norff. They take care of a wide range of animals.

‘I was fascinated to see that animals who have experienced a lot of suffering at the hands of us humans are able to forgive and enrich the lives of people in different ways,’ said Havertz.

‘I would like to contribute to giving people in need the opportunity to experience animal therapy and to discover for themselves what effect animals have on us humans.’

He has three dogs and a horse with wife Sophia, whom he married in July. Family is important to a man who relishes staying in rather than hitting the town.

Back on the pitch, another crucial element of Havertz’s rebirth has been his positioning. He was initially deployed on the left side of the midfield three — the role made vacant by Granit Xhaka’s departure to Bayer Leverkusen — and that did not go to plan.

The Gunners boss described the German as ‘one of the most likeable guys I’ve met in football and in my life’

He was initially played in the midfield spot vacated by Granit Xhaka – but that didn’t work and he has shone further up the pitch

Havertz appeared lost and ponderous on the ball. He appeared to shy away from receiving the ball in tight areas, and nervous about playing attacking passes. Jesus’s injury problems forced Arteta’s hand and Havertz was moved up front.

He has, on occasion, been deployed deeper in midfield — including against Atalanta in the Champions League this season — but he has largely made the striker spot his own.

It has worked a treat as the goals have rained in for Havertz, as he has dovetailed effectively with the wide men.

Aside from that game against Bournemouth, there are two other defining games pinpointed by those at the club as key to Havertz’s transformation.

One is the controversial 1-0 defeat at Newcastle this time last year, after which Arteta erupted into that ‘disgrace’ rant over Anthony Gordon’s winner, which was allowed to stand after several VAR checks.

Havertz did not score or provide an assist, but sprinted around with vicious intent.

His tackle on Sean Longstaff, sliding in and taking plenty of body as well as ball, caused a melee. But Havertz’s determination that day showed the management he had the right character and convinced them that patience would pay off.

The other is the 1-0 victory over Brentford three weeks after the Newcastle game, in which Havertz scored his first goal from open play in the 89th minute.

A delighted Arteta said afterwards: ‘If things come easy, you don’t value them. If things came easy then he wouldn’t have got the reception he got with everybody hugging him and telling him how much we love him.

‘It’s for a reason, it’s because of the way he behaves in difficult situations. He’s an example for all of us to do what you have to do when you have difficulties. It’s a great example for the team.

‘We cannot be happier that a big-game (player) like him won it for the team.’

Going back to that Bournemouth match, and the moments after the penalty that opened his account, Arsenal’s fans could see the response from the other players, as they slapped him on the head in delight and celebrated a goal which, in the game’s context, was largely meaningless. It showed Havertz how much they all wanted him to succeed and to hush the outside noise.

It helps when the team’s captain is in your corner. Havertz and Odegaard are close friends and went on holiday together over the summer to Ibiza with their partners. Earlier this season, Odegaard told a Norwegian TV channel that the forward is his ‘best friend in football’.

Gunners captain Martin Odegaard has described Havertz as his best friend in the sport

The pair took a holiday together with their respective partners in Ibiza over the summer

That connection reflects why Odegaard went out of his way for his team-mate that day on the south coast and brought him over to the fans after the 4-0 victory.

Havertz’s time at Chelsea — with the exception of his Champions League final-winning display against Manchester City in May 2021 — was underwhelming. He arrived with a burgeoning reputation but never reached the heights that were expected of him and he struggled with confidence.

Yet a big difference between his time in a red shirt and a blue one is the surroundings. He had three different managers in three years of instability at Chelsea.

Often overlooked, however, are the circumstances in which he arrived. Havertz moved to London from Bayer Leverkusen in September 2020 as the nation was still grappling with Covid restrictions.

Aged just 21, and coming to a foreign country without being able to bond with anyone, had been difficult for someone such as Havertz, who relies on close connections. He was raised in a tight family in the city of Aachen by a lawyer mother and a policeman father.

One of Havertz’s early tasks at Arsenal was looking after the team’s mascot Win (pictured with Lia Walti)

Now that Havertz is settled there is growing hope that he will continue to exceed expectations

The likes of Odegaard, Jorginho and Arteta have helped him to feel settled and able to perform to the best of his abilities in an environment where there is an emphasis on family bonding and quirks such as taking care of the club dog Win.

Arteta’s role should not be understated. When the scrutiny hit fever pitch, Arteta didn’t give in. He could have easily dropped his man or refused to experiment with Havertz’s position, but stuck to his convictions that this signing would work out.

He had grand plans for Havertz and they have paid off. The crowd bellow their Havertz song every game: ‘Waka waka, eh, eh, £60m down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again!’

If the forward can continue scoring and exceeding expectations, a Premier League winners’ medal could join his Champions League one on the mantlepiece. And it all started with a spot-kick on the south coast.