Arsenal sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65m

Kai Havertz has left Chelsea to join Arsenal in a deal reportedly worth £65 million.

The deal, announced on Wednesday, is Arsenal’s first of the summer transfer window.

According to BBC Sport, the deal could increase due to add-ons.

Havertz has signed a five-year deal and will wear the number 27 jersey as Arsenal continue to improve their squad to mount another English Premier League (EPL) title challenge.

Speaking about the transfer, Havertz, the scorer of Chelsea’s 2021 UEFA Champions League final-winning goal against Manchester City, praised Arsenal for its “big history and mentality”.

He also disclosed his ambition to win trophies at the Emirates Stadium.

“It’s super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family. This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things,” he said.

“The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.

“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club. I’m now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”

On his part, Mikel Arteta, the Gunners’ manager, praised the 24-year-old German international’s versatility.

“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,” he said.

“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”

During his three years at Stamford Bridge, Havertz chalked up 32 goals and 15 assists in the 139 matches he featured for the Blues in all competitions.