It is the start of Arsenal’s biggest week of the season so far.
On Sunday, Mikel Arteta’s team take on Tottenham in the North London derby, seeking a fourth successive victory over Spurs for the first time since 1989.
After that, it is the small matter of Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, both currently boast 100% records in this season’s competition, before another blockbuster the following Sunday, facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in another fierce derby.
If the Gunners are going to maintain their unbeaten streak, currently standing at 14 games, they will need their “unpredictable” summer signing to come to the fore, currently going through a similar trajectory to that of his teammate.
Kai Havertz's roller coaster Arsenal career
Few players fluctuate in popularity at one particular club quite as dramatically and quickly as Kai Havertz has done since joining Arsenal in June 2023.
Costing £65m from hated rivals Chelsea, supporters were puzzled as to why Arteta had recruited the German, ostensibly signed to replace Granit Xhaka as the left-sided eight in midfield, but seemingly not suiting that role at all.
He scored just one goal in his first 12 Premier League appearances for the club, this is a pity penalty at Bournemouth, before flourishing in the second half of the 2023/24 season, once moved up front.
By the end of the campaign, as Arsenal won 16 of their final 18 Premier League matches, Havertz had 14 goals and eight assists to his name, netting nine times in 14 matches during that historic streak.
Last season, Havertz added 15 goals to his tally, despite suffering a season-ending hamstring injury against Newcastle in the EFL Cup semi-finals in February, meaning he has barely featured at all in 2025, seeing just half an hour of action this time round, suffering a knee injury on the opening day at Old Trafford and not seen since.
Two years ago, it would’ve felt fanciful to suggest that Arteta and Gooners everywhere are desperate to see Havertz return to fitness, considering the ambivalence and bewilderment his arrival and early appearances were met with, but he is undeniably a key figure that they’ve severely missed this season so far.
With that in mind, which of Arsenal’s summer signings is currently enduring a sticky start to life in North London, but could enjoy a Havertz-esque revival?
Arsenal's next Kai Havertz
In complete contrast to that of Havertz, Eberechi Eze’s £60m signing was the most exciting Gonners have been about any new arrival since the days of Mesut Özil’s deadline day switch from Real Madrid.
While there was an acceptance that some of the overseas summer signings, namely new striker Viktor Gyökeres, would take time to adapt to their teammates but also the level of the Premier League, there was hope that Eze would hit the ground running, which has not quite been the case, as the table below documents.
Minutes
966
8th
Goals
2
6th
Assists
2
5th
Shots
25
4th
Shots on target
8
3rd
Key passes
8
8th
Big chances created
3
6th
Shot-creating actions
27
5th
Goal-creating actions
5
2nd
Successful take-ons
13
2nd
Average rating
7.04
7th
As the numbers highlight, Eze has certainly not been bad to commence his Arsenal career, but he has also not been the lights-out difference maker they were perhaps hoping for.
Rio Ferdinand, speaking on TNT Sports, labelled Eze an “elusive player” who is “unpredictable” when carrying the ball, which he describes as his greatest strength.
The England international has made massive contributions, scoring his first Premier League goal for the club against Crystal Palace, a thunderous volley to secure a 1-0 victory, while also producing this glorious assist to play in Gabriel Martinelli to rescue a draw in injury time against Manchester City.
Nevertheless, since Ødegaard suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee against West Ham in early-October, Eze has taken on the mantle as the central number ten, yet to consistently look excellent in that role, albeit there have been glimpses.
At Crystal Palace, he played as an inside-forward on the left of the front three, whereas now he’s being deployed as an attacking midfielder shaded towards the right, thereby tasked with learning a new role and position on the job, required to do so in double-quick time.
This is, as already outlined, reminiscent of when Havertz arrived two years ago, with Arteta attempting to mould the German into a central midfield, taking time to get to grips with what was being asked of him, with Eze seemingly going through something similar.
So, what is the solution for Eze?
Well, for now, he will continue to be deployed centrally but, whenever Ødegaard does come back, Eze could potentially return to the left-wing, usurping Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in the pecking order, which may suit his skillset better.
In 2023/24, Havertz scored crucial goals against Brentford, home and away, Chelsea and Spurs, which is when he really started to win supporters over.
Not that Eze needs to do that, but a goal in Sunday’s North London derby, against the side he famously turned down to join Arsenal instead, might just take the roof off, but could also be what he needs to ignite his career in red and white.
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