Kai Havertz is set to have a fight on his hands if Arsenal are successful in their pursuit of Viktor Gyokeres and the German looks - quite literally - ready for battle
CARTAGENA, SPAIN - JULY 14: Kai Havertzof Arsenal during a training session at La Manga Club on July 14, 2025 in Cartagena, Spain. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Kai Havetz has been working hard in the gym(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal star Kai Havertz has bulked up for pre-season, as he prepares to fight Viktor Gyokeres for a starting place. Havetz, 26, missed four crucial months of the 2024-25 campaign with a hamstring injury and coupled with Gabriel Jesus' absence, Arsenal were left without a recognised striker during the run-in.
The Gunners want to bolster their options by signing Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon, agreeing to pay an initial £55million plus £8.6m in add-ons. It's understood that personal terms have been agreed in principle over a five-year contract, with the Swede - who Mirror Football understands has his heart set on joining Arsenal - pencilled in for a medical in London on Friday.
Gyokeres' arrival would put Havertz's place under threat, having played 56 per cent of his matches for Arsenal as a striker. But there'll be something different about the 26-year-old when the new season kicks off.
Images from the Gunners' training camp in Cartagena, Spain show that Havertz has undergone a striking transformation, one which Mikel Arteta alluded to towards the end of last season. The former Chelsea star was always known for his slender figure but he appears to have gained muscle mass since his injury.
"Look at the physical transformation, he's so ready to show everybody he means business and lead the line," one Arsenal fan posted on social media.
"Boy became a man. What a unit," a second added. Another supporter, looking ahead to Arsenal's first game of the Premier League season away to Manchester United, predicted: "This is part of the reason why I think he starts at Old Trafford."
Fans aren't the only ones praising Havertz's physique, too. Arteta himself said: "There's been a transformation in his body. The last three years in his career have been so condensed that he hasn't had time to do that and this has been a window and he really wanted to use it.
"To be fair, the staff and how they have explained the opportunity that is within with his physique to go to a different level and the things that he can improve and it can even help him mentally as well as being more effective as a player.
How should Arsenal line up if they sign Viktor Gyokeres? Let us know your XI in the comments section.
CARTAGENA, SPAIN - JULY 15: Kai Havertz of Arsenal during a training session at La Manga Club on July 15, 2025 in Cartagena, Spain. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal fans are in awe of Kai Havetz's transformation
"He got on board with that, he worked hard, you can see his presence and I think he destroyed all the metrics that we had in the gym for the last 10 years. Power, acceleration, muscle mass, the way that he has increased certain capacities in his body, his agility, he's been incredible."
Havertz came on as a substitute in Arsenal's last two games of the season but missed out on making the Germany squad ahead of the Nations League finals on home soil. The ex-Bayer Leverkusen star will be determined to have a successful season in order to represent his country at next year's World Cup in north America.
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