Kai Havertz did more than score against his former club as Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. He may also have strengthened his position at the top of Mikel Arteta’s centre-forward hierarchy.
The biggest attacking question before kick-off surrounded Viktor Gyökeres.
Arsenal’s £63million striker was again named among the substitutes, while Havertz started his third consecutive Premier League game.
Arteta’s decision was significant.
By full-time, it looked entirely justified.
Havertz gives Arsenal exactly what Arteta wanted
Havertz equalised after 25 minutes, collecting Declan Rice’s pass before moving inside and finding the bottom corner beyond Emi Martínez.
It was his second Premier League goal of the season and another reminder that his value cannot simply be measured through traditional centre-forward statistics.
That was already the argument behind our pre-match analysis of why Kai Havertz could be Arteta’s key weapon against Chelsea.
Against Xabi Alonso’s defensive structure, Arsenal needed a forward capable of moving away from the centre-backs, connecting midfield with attack and creating openings for those around him.
Havertz delivered exactly that.
The clearest example did not even involve him touching the ball.
Christos Tzolis fired a pass towards the German shortly after half-time.
Havertz recognised Martin Ødegaard’s run behind him and deliberately allowed the ball to travel through his legs.
Chelsea’s defence reacted towards Havertz.
Ødegaard attacked the space he had vacated.
Seconds later, Arsenal were 2-1 ahead.
There was no assist beside Havertz’s name.
There did not need to be.
His decision created the goal.
Viktor Gyokeres now faces a genuine Arsenal fight
That is what makes the situation particularly interesting for Gyökeres.
The Swedish striker offers Arsenal qualities Havertz does not.
He is more direct, wants to attack the space behind defenders and provides a natural penalty-box presence.
There will be matches where those qualities become essential.
But Arteta has now selected Havertz ahead of him for all three Premier League games this season.
That follows the trend we highlighted after the opening two fixtures when asking why Viktor Gyökeres had suddenly become Arsenal’s forgotten man.
Chelsea provided the strongest evidence yet that the hierarchy is not accidental.
Havertz did not simply justify his place by scoring.
He helped make the players around him better.
Ødegaard could run beyond him.
Bukayo Saka and Tzolis could attack from wider starting positions.
Rice had a target capable of dropping towards possession.
Arsenal could also bypass Chelsea’s press by playing directly towards a 193cm forward comfortable competing for longer passes.
The end result was an Arsenal attack which recovered from conceding after 77 seconds and created enough chances to deserve the comeback victory. Reuters described Arteta’s side as the more cohesive team throughout the contest.
Arteta now has the striker problem he wanted
None of this means Gyökeres has become irrelevant.
He finally received his first Premier League minutes of the season during the closing stages against Chelsea.
Arsenal’s schedule will also rapidly expand once Champions League football begins, while domestic cup fixtures will create further opportunities.
Arteta needs both strikers.
The competition itself is healthy.
What has changed is the assumption that Arsenal’s most expensive specialist centre-forward automatically starts when available.
That was already becoming apparent before Chelsea.
Sunday made it impossible to ignore.
Our confirmed Arsenal XI against Chelsea showed Arteta once again placing his trust in Havertz.
Havertz responded with a goal, a decisive piece of movement for the winner and another performance which demonstrated why Arteta values him so highly.
Gyökeres will get opportunities.
He may eventually force his way back into the team.
For now, though, Arsenal’s biggest centre-forward decision does not look particularly difficult.
Havertz has earned the shirt.
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