Kai Havertz has revealed that initial conversations with Declan Rice helped him make the decision to leave Chelsea for Arsenal.
Havertz departed from the West London side after three years, leaving for rivals Arsenal in a £65million transfer after a disappointing campaign that saw the Blues finish tenth.
Arsenal surprisingly opted to sign Havertz for £65million in a controversial move between the two London rivals.
But the 24-year-old has revealed how Rice, who joined the Gunners after Havertz completed his switch, helped him decide to make that switch to north London.
Havertz reveals Rice convinced him to join Arsenal
“Before I joined, I spoke a lot with Declan Rice as well, who I know through Mason Mount,” he told Arsenal’s official website.
“For me it was very easy to come into the team because there are so many young players.”
“I’ve played against a lot of them already so I know them from the pitch, and I have found it easy to make friends here. Hopefully, it will continue like this.”
Havertz is yet to hit expected heights at Arsenal, having scored just one goal in 19 appearances – with his only goal coming from the penalty spot.
Regardless, Mikel Arteta has given the former Bayer Leverkusen plenty of trust while playing him across several positions including midfield, on the wing and up front.
That support has been followed through by the squad and Havertz is keen to repay them.
“From outside, Arsenal always looked like a family,” he added.
“That’s the feeling I got when playing. And when I joined, that was exactly what it was like, and the staff are really nice too – and that makes life easier for a new player.”
“From the first minute that I spoke to Mikel about joining Arsenal, I had this feeling that he respects all of us very much, so that was also a big part of me joining the club.”
“I just felt the togetherness of the club from the players and especially within the fans and the whole club.”
“At the training ground it’s like a big family – and this is a big factor to achieve great things.”
Arsenal will return to action at the weekend when they take on Brentford in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Havertz is likely to start after an interesting international break where he ended up playing as a left-back for Germany.
