Mikel Arteta hailed Kai Havertz after the forward scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s 2-0 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain tonight.
Havertz nodded in Leandro Trossard’s cross after 20 minutes following some uncertain goalkeeping by Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was the sixth successive game at the Emirates in which the Germany international has scored.
Bukayo Saka netted the second 10 minutes before halftime with Arsenal seeing out the game with relative comfort after the break.
Kai Havertz heads Arsenal into the lead 💥
How about that ball from Leandro Trossard? 👏#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/Glzghe7GQm
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) October 1, 2024
Havertz has established himself as a key part of the Arsenal machine in recent months and Arteta was delighted with his progress.
He told Amazon Prime: “He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together. Hs work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.”
Arsenal were never seriously threatened by PSG although Arteta felt his side could have done better in possession.
He added: “Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don’t have the ball. The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.
“We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well.”
