How Arsenal could replace Kai Havertz

Arsenal‘s attack could and should look rather different when the first ball of the new Premier League season is kicked.

They are champions of England but if there was one problem in 2025/26 it was their ability to score goals on a regular basis.

It must be stated that only Manchester City bagged more than Mikel Arteta’s side in the top-flight last term but they laboured over the line in a lot of games or were made to rely on set-plays.

The Gunners did encounter plenty of low blocks but even so, they lacked game-changers. It’s why the likes of Bradley Barcola and Vinicius Junior have been targeted this summer. It is why Morgan Rogers was a leading target.

The wide positions are a problem, but even after years of trying to improve the issue, they still lack that elite centre-forward. Kai Havertz has not been bad in Arsenal colours but he remains something of a marmite figure.

Arsenal’s Kai Havertz problem

When Arsenal announced the signing of Havertz back in the summer of 2023, Arteta openly admitted that he was arriving as a midfielder.

“Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play,” commented the manager back then.

However, he has not played a very prominent role in that position. Instead, Havertz has featured more regularly as a centre-forward and it has largely worked a treat.

In midfield, he has scored 11 goals and supplied five assists in 49 matches. As a striker, he has 24 goals and 13 assists in 59 outings.

When he plays further back, the Gunners seem to lack fluidity. When he plays up top, he is why they are so fluid in the final third.

There is a reason Arteta trusts him in the big moments. Last campaign, the boss selected him over Viktor Gyokeres in the League Cup final against Manchester City, in the Champions League final, and against City in the league in the dying weeks of the season.

Havertz scored in that European showpiece in Budapest but in those two outings against Pep Guardiola’s side, it encapsulated why he is a problem.

The German is never going to be a prolific player like Erling Haaland but he is notably wasteful in front of goal. During the cup final at Wembley, he failed to stick a one-on-one past James Trafford. Then, in the closing stages of the league clash between the two teams, he was presented with a headed opportunity from a matter of yards out but fired over the bar.

Therein lies the problem. As good as the former Chelsea man has been at linking play and combining with his teammates, he is not going to carry you to glory in front of goal.

How Arsenal can replace Havertz long-term

On paper, Havertz and Gyokeres are two solid options. In the latter, they have a rapid and aggressive striker capable of running in behind. In the former, they have a different profile, someone who will come short and involve himself in the build-up.

What the Gunners require is someone who can do a bit of both. That is not easy to find, of course, but if they are to go to the next level under Arteta, they need a higher calibre striker.

Julian Alvarez continues to be linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, as does Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi. Ben Jacobs reports this week that amid interest from the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City and Arsenal, the Cherries have slapped a £111m asking price on his head.

For a 20-year-old forward, that is an astronomical price tag but there is a reason why. He is not just a lively and effervescent forward presence but he is one of the most exciting young players in European football right now.

In 2025/26, as a 19-year-old, he scored 13 goals. No teenager has ever scored more in their debut Premier League campaign than the Frenchman. It was remarkable the way in which he took to life in England, particularly when you consider he was playing in the second tier of French football for Lorient in 2024/25.

Kroupi’s rise to greatness has been phenomenal. Daniel Sturridge has quite rightfully hailed him as “one of the best finishers in the Premier League” and there is a belief that he will go onto become one of the best strikers in the world before too long. Compared to Havertz, he also ranks pretty favourably in some important metrics.

As with Gyokeres, Kroupi is a totally different profile to Havertz. He’s not active in aerial duels or particularly good in those situations.

That said, most importantly for a striker, he’s far more clinical in front of goal, scoring more non-penalty goals per 90 minutes despite having an identical number of shots.

Havertz would appear to be better in the build up, creating more chances for his teammates from open play but that does not mean that Kroupi is not a well-rounded striker.

He’s certainly quicker than the German and he’s more dynamic in his actions, completing far more dribbles per 90. His style of play has already earned comparisons to Kylian Mbappe which tells you all you need to know.

At the age of 20, Kroupi is still very young and raw but he is only going to get better. He scored just one goal fewer than Gyokeres in the league last season despite being eight years his junior; that’s mightily impressive.

A move will not happen this summer after the attacker sustained a foot injury keeping him out for three to four months, but Arsenal’s interest will no doubt extend into future transfer windows.