Arsenal are gearing up for another Premier League title race after going so close in two successive seasons under Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners narrowly missed out in 2023 and some were doubting that Mikel Arteta would be able to pick his squad back up and go again.
In the end, Arsenal actually went closer last time around as they fell just two points shy of Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s men remain the benchmark and Arsenal are looking to find ways to finally overhaul City at the top of the table.
Goalkeeper David Raya has signed permanently and Arsenal have now secured Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.
Those two deals should help Arsenal moving forward but it isn’t just about signings; Arsenal can find ways to improve from within.
German media on Kai Havertz
A number of Arsenal players really stepped it up last season.
Martin Odegaard took his game to another level, Ben White built on his partnership with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes put himself in the upper echelon of Premier League centre backs.
That shows how Arsenal can improve without even making signings and Kai Havertz could be one to take the next step.
The German had a mixed start to life at Arsenal but ended the season as a fan favourite following his move from Chelsea.
Havertz wasn’t entirely convincing as a midfielder but really grew into a striking role in Arteta’s attack.
13 goals and seven assists in 37 Premier League outings was a very decent return for Havertz, though the Gunners have still looked at other strikers.
Arsenal wanted Benjamin Sesko before he chose to stay with RB Leipzig, whilst Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres has been scouted.
Havertz will be hoping to prove that the role is his to lose and the German media have delivered their verdict on him.
Kicker believe that Havertz was ‘decent’ at Euro 2024 and showed ‘nerves of steel’ to take a penalty against Denmark in the last 16.
However, Kicker feel that one thing is holding Havertz back from being a truly world class player.
They want to see Havertz play more games in the Champions League, believing that playing in Europe’s top competition will help him ascend.
“His nine goals and six assists almost helped Arsenal to the Premier League title. He put in a decent performance at the European Championships and showed particular nerves of steel during the penalty against Denmark. But to be considered world class, Havertz would have had to play more in the Champions League,” they wrote.
Arsenal have indeed qualified for the Champions League and Havertz will be central to their hopes of improving on last season’s run.
The Gunners were dumped out of last season’s Champions League in the quarter-finals, losing out 3-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.
Winning that tie would have seen Arsenal tee up a semi-final clash with Real Madrid, but it just wasn’t to be.
Arsenal haven’t quite got over the line in the Premier League and will need to step it up in order to compete with some of the Champions League’s very best.
Havertz may need to be the man to step up in the big moments given that he is leading the line, and he certainly has the quality in his locker to take the next step as a top striker.
The post ‘Nerves of steel’: National media think one factor could soon turn Arsenal player in to a ‘world class’ star appeared first on HITC.
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