Sunderland v Arsenal FC - Premier League 2026/27
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Kai Havertz has started all six of Arsenal鈥檚 Premier League games this season, and Mikel Arteta has made it pretty clear that he鈥檚 the first-choice striker.
With Viktor Gyokeres struggling for form, Havertz鈥檚 link-up play has been integral to the way Arsenal are attacking, with more goals coming from quick passing moves and fewer from set-pieces. There鈥檚 one part of his game that hasn鈥檛 quite clicked yet, though.
Kai Havertz has been caught offside more than anyone in the Premier League
According to WhoScored, Havertz has been flagged offside 12 times in the Premier League so far, more than any other player in the division. That works out at two per game. Interestingly, Bukayo Saka is joint-second with six, level with Everton鈥檚 Brennan Johnson.
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It appears to be a team-wide trend during this early stage of the season. Arsenal have been caught offside 27 times, which is by far the most in the league 鈥� Sunderland are next with 15.
Part of that is down to how Arsenal are playing. There鈥檚 more freedom in the side this season, with the attacking players encouraged to make runs in behind and creative players like Martin Odegaard and Bruno Guimaraes looking for them with more ambitious passes. Mistimed runs come with that, and some of those flags are the price of a more direct, aggressive approach.
The opposition has undoubtedly played a big part as well. Arsenal were caught offside eight times against Aston Villa, a side who have become well known for their high line and offside trap under Unai Emery. Then against Leeds, they were flagged seven times, five of those in the first half.
So half of Arsenal鈥檚 league total offsides have come from just two games, and both were cagey matches where Arteta鈥檚 side struggled to find a way through. The offsides tend to pile up when the space in behind is the only option left, and that ties in with Arsenal鈥檚 slow starts this season, where they鈥檝e often taken over an hour to find the deadlock.