Thomas Tuchel thinks Arsenal target is just like Bergkamp and Van Persie

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Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea this summer, a player who Thomas Tuchel thinks is similar to Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo over the last few months. A move for the Englishman is still very much on, but Mikel Arteta has reportedly withdrawn his interest in the Brighton midfielder.

That’s because Arsenal are really keen to sign Havertz, and he’s apparently very similar to two prolific old Gunners strikers.

Thomas Tuchel thinks Kai Havertz is similar to Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie

Before Kai Havertz joined Chelsea, he was viewed as one of the best young players in the world.

The German showed incredible potential at Bayer Leverkusen during his time there, but his Chelsea spell has been a really underwhelming one over the last three years.

However, despite that, Arsenal are reportedly leading the race to sign Havertz this summer, and Tuchel’s assessment of him may explain why.

The Bayern Munich boss, who managed Havertz at Chelsea, once compared the attacker to two Dutch greats – Bergkamp and Van Persie.

He said in 2021, as quoted by The Metro: “I see a bit of Dennis Bergkamp, Robin Van Persie, [Dimitar] Berbatov kind of player (in Havertz).

“He can play in the half position because he has good runs, but also feels free from the nine and creates overload to one side. When I watched him at Leverkusen, I didn’t know that I would coach him, when I watched him at Paris [Saint-Germain], they made him play as a nine which was very interesting.

“I remember when I watched a cup final against Bayern [Munich] with my staff and said: “This could be a good role for him”.”

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Tuchel often played Havertz as a centre-forward at Chelsea, but we don’t think Mikel Arteta will do that at Arsenal.

The German is a hugely versatile player. He can play up front, as a second striker, on the right and also as a number 10. However, we think he’ll be a left-sided number eight if he joins Arsenal.

The Gunners are set to lose Granit Xhaka this summer. The Swiss international played out of his skin last season, and replacing him will not be easy.

Havertz in that role, in our opinion, could really explode under Arteta, especially with players like Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus playing in front of him.