Mikel Arteta has thanked the Arsenal fans for their show of support to Kai Havertz, who bagged his first goal for the club in a 4-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend.
In the Gunners’ 4-0 victory at the weekend, it was Havertz’ goal that stole the headlines, given the circumstances surrounding the goal.
Arsenal were handed penalties in each half, and on both occasions, regular penalty taker Bukayo Saka – who already opened the scoring for the Gunners – gave the opportunity to a teammate. After the first was scored by Martin Odegaard, the second was handed to Kai Havertz, offering him with a golden chance to open his Gunners account. The German made no mistake and calmly slotted home from the spot.
The celebrations around the goal showed just what it meant to everyone, as huge hugs by teammates and jubilations from supporters alike were quite obvious, much to the delight of Arteta.
Arteta pleased at Kai Havertz treatment from fans and players
Speaking afterwards, the manager said: “There were moments that we dominated the game and we played the game that we wanted to play, causing big issues to Bournemouth.”
“The other thing (that pleased him) apart from the win is the human level of what they have done today as a team – to give the penalty to their teammate and have the empathy for a player like Kai, who externally is having some question marks, and that level of trust to take it and win the game for us.”
“As a manager I’m more proud of this than the victory because this is what you try to build – the culture and environment that they support each other, have their backs and enjoy what we are doing.”
“It’s worth it, it’s real and it’s not forced. They made the decision and showed the leadership without me even telling them so that’s much more powerful.”
“And thank you to our supporters, because the way they have supported our team and Kai – it is going to mean the world to him. Thank you so much.”
Arsenal will be looking to carry on their unbeaten run this season when they take on Lens in the Champions League on Tuesday, before a highly-anticipated Premier league heavyweight clash between Manchester City on Sunday – in what is a fixture that could tell a lot about the eventual winners of this season’s domestic campaign.
