Mikel Arteta Applauds Kai Havertz's 'Unbelievable' Performance in Champions League Victory against PSG

LONDON – A year ago, Kai Havertz seemed like an unnecessary acquisition for Arsenal following his expensive transfer from Chelsea, but now the German forward is proving his worth with a stellar performance at the start of the season. His £65 million (S$83.9 million) price tag is starting to look like a bargain.

The 25-year-old put Arsenal on the path to a 2-0 home win against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Oct 1 with a well-timed run and header in the 20th minute.

After taking 10 games to get off the mark for the Gunners last season, it was his fifth goal for the club in the current campaign and he deservedly picked up the Man of the Match award.

“He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who showed great faith in Havertz even when he was struggling last season.

“His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.”

It was a satisfying night for Arteta whose men dominated one of Europe’s heavyweights in the first half and then comfortably contained them after the break.

“Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don’t have the ball,” he said.

“The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.

“We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well.”

Victory, following the 0-0 draw away to Atalanta, propelled Arsenal to eighth in the 36-team table. Arteta said it was far too early to predict how many more wins his side will need to qualify automatically for the last 16.

“I’m not even looking at the table,” he said. “But I think it will be a long journey.”

Another boost for Arsenal was the sight of new signing Mikel Merino coming off the bench for his first appearance in the second half after missing the start of the season with injury.

But fullback Jurrien Timber was taken off at half-time as a precautionary measure after picking up a muscle issue.

PSG coach Luis Enrique, meanwhile, said he has no idea how long it will take to turn his side back into a European force after the suffering their first defeat of the season.

The French champions, who lost their talisman Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the summer, look like a side in transition.

Enrique, who left out forward Ousmane Dembele for disciplinary reasons, accepted his share of responsibility for the defeat but appeared to question his side’s fighting spirit.

“Today we were far away from the standards you need in this kind of match. Arsenal were much better in terms of pressure, intensity, they won every duel,” he said.

“It’s impossible to play for a positive result when you don’t win any of your duels on the pitch, their defenders anticipated our attackers and our defenders didn’t anticipate their attackers. Arsenal were superior.”

The Spaniard led PSG to last season’s Champions League semi-finals as they beat his former club Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

They are top of Ligue 1 and beat Girona in their opening Champions League group game, but Arsenal were a big step up in quality for Enrique’s men.

he added: “This was our first big rival at a higher level. We knew from the first minute they would press us high and they did it aggressively and we couldn’t cope with that pressure.

“Arteta has been here for five years, I’ve been at Paris for one year and two months. I don’t know where we are. I have a clear idea where I want us to be but I don’t know how much time I will need.”