Arsenal got one over their London rivals Chelsea on Sunday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium with former star Kai Havertz among the goals against his former side once again
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso fell to his first Chelsea defeat against Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
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Joe Cole has slammed Chelsea for allowing Kai Havertz to leave the club for Arsenal following his goal against his former club. The German was on the scoresheet once again for the Gunners as they came from behind to beat their London rivals.
Morgan Rogers had given Chelsea the lead, only for Havertz’s strike and a goal from Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard to flip the game on its head.
Havertz, 27, has now netted four times against Chelsea after leaving the club in a £65m move across the capital. And Cole has torn into the decision-makers at Stamford Bridge for allowing that move to go through.
“I think if you’ve got Kai Havertz at your club you’re watching him every day, week in, week out,” Cole said on Premier League Productions.
“Coaches and managers come and go, but the Directors of Football? Look at the amount of money on centre-forwards the club has spent since they him go out the door.
“It’s just not good enough; I think it’s got to stop happening. It happened with Kevin De Bruyne [leaving]; it happened with Kai Havertz.
“Those kind of deals never happened at Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson, or with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. When did you hear of them letting go of a player who went on to become world class at one of your rivals?”
Havertz arrived at Chelsea back in 2020 following an eye-catching period with Bayer Leverkusen. He went on to score 32 goals in 139 games including the winner in the 2021 Champions League final.
The German has already bettered that record with Arsenal, having netted 39 times in 115 outings. Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher was full of praise for his performance vs Chelsea.
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz has scored four goals against Chelsea since leaving for Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
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“To displace Kai Havertz out this team, you’re talking about one of the best players in the world, that’s what you have to get,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“It has to be an Ian Wright, guaranteed 30 goals a season, a Thierry Henry. Gyokeres is never taking Havertz’s place, not ever. Morgan Rogers I’m not sure [would have], as well.
“It’s not about how good they are just in attack, it’s what they give you for the team. One of the reasons why you can’t break Arsenal down as a team is how well they press from the front.
“But then when the opposition get through that, they all get behind the ball, and Havertz is about 25, 30 yards from his goal.
“You go and ask a world-class striker to do that, I guy who’s obsessed with his numbers and his goals to come back and do that, he won’t do that.”
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