What Frank Lampard told worried Arsenal fans after they signed Chelsea star

Frank Lampard has revealed what he told his Arsenal-supporting friends after they signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

Havertz joined Chelsea during Lampard’s time in charge of the Blues in a £71m deal from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.

There were high hopes for the German given his performances for Leverkusen and the fact he had become a regular for his national side.

But Havertz endured a turbulent and ultimately underwhelming spell at Stamford Bridge despite winning a number of trophies and was sold to London rivals Arsenal in the summer of 2023.

The 25-year-old continued to flatter to deceive in his first few weeks at Arsenal but had emerged as one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players by the end of last season, making over 50 appearances and helping the Gunners finish just two points behind Premier League champions Manchester City.

Havertz’s impressive run of form has continued in the early stages of the 2024-25 campaign, the Germany international scoring his fifth goal in nine games to help Arsenal beat Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

Lampard was asked about his former player prior to the Champions League clash and explained why Havertz struggled at Chelsea and how he reassured his Arsenal-supporting mates that he was a good signing.

‘I brought him to Chelsea a good few years ago now as a young player,’ Lampard said on Amazon Prime. ‘I think when he came to Chelsea it wasn’t quite clear.

‘He was a very talented player but his position wasn’t quite clear. He’d been more of a No. 8 midfielder, he had played as a No. 9 – we never got to the end of his story at Chelsea in terms of what his best position was.

‘But you see the faith Mikel Arteta has shown in him and how he’s stuck with him. I’ve got some Arsenal friends and when he first signed there were question marks and people were asking me what he’s like.

‘I told them, trust me he’s a talented boy he just needs to work out the Premier League and find his way. I think we’ve seen him do that.

‘He’s a really relaxed lad, very easy going. You might think he’s too easy going but he has that streak where he wants to do well.

‘He was just a boy who wanted to do well [at Chelsea]. The performances I’ve seen from him this season, he’s added consistency and goals.

‘Arsenal are a physical team and he’s a physical, powerful player but he’s got a great touch too and he’s very elegant and fluid. There’s a lot of elements to his game and he can still improve too.’

First-half goals from Havertz and Bukayo Saka saw Arsenal secure a deserved and impressive 2-0 win over PSG at the Emirates Stadium.

A beaming Havertz said afterwards: ‘I love playing here, I love the fans and I am so grateful to be here and to play with this team.

‘Winning against teams like this always gives you a boost. Last year against Bayern was tough to lose in that way but we grew up as a team and we want to improve on that this season.’

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