Kai on Mikel's influence and playing with Jorginho

Kai Havertz has been one of the first names on the team sheet since he arrived in the summer ahead of our Premier League title-chasing campaign.

Mikel Arteta is regularly asked about the positive impact that Kai has had on the team, and is excited to suggest that there is even more to come.

It’s Mikel who has been one of the key reasons why Kai has been able to settle in so well at the club and, in a recent pre-Brighton interview, our German forward explained what the boss has done.

“He helped me from the first day I arrived and showed me a different spectrum of how to play football that I had never experienced before and how to make myself better on the pitch as a player,” he said.

“I’m so happy he helped me with a lot of things and is someone who wants to improve the players and that’s what makes him special.

“I’ve never had a coach before who was so detailed and showed so many different things that maybe I didn’t even know about.”

"People speak more about goals and assists, but Jorgi sets the tone and rhythm"

Before he arrived at Arsenal, Kai was in touch with Jorginho, who he played alongside at Chelsea, to learn more about the club.

Now, he feels like his relationship with our combative midfielder is one that is going from strength to strength.

“We spoke before and played together at Chelsea so I know him quite well and just asked him what it was like here,” Kai explained. “He said his honest opinion about everything and was already after six months at the club complimentary of everyone, the coaches and the players, and that made my decision easier. I spoke to the coach and for me it was after that chat that I wanted to come here.

“Jorgi is a player who I feel like he looks at me or I look at him and we both know what is going to happen next. He’s one of the best players I’ve played with because he knows my movements, I know his passing and which ideas he has in his mind.

“In general, the whole football industry is only interested in goals and assists but he’s a player who’s more on the other part of the pitch and not so much in the box. People speak more about players who score, assist and have goal contributions, but I think he’s one of those players who is the mind behind all of us. He sets the tone on the pitch and gives the rhythm. I think he was third in the Ballon D’Or so that shows everyone that he’s one of the greatest in his position.”