Havertz leaves Chelsea for Arsenal in reported £65M move

Arsenal welcomed attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Chelsea on Wednesday in a deal reportedly worth £65 million.

Havertz, who'll wear the No. 29 shirt, signed a long-term contract with the Gunners.

The 24-year-old is one of several players Chelsea have sold since the season ended in May. The Blues confirmed the departures of N'Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Mateo Kovacic before continuing the clearout with the sales of Havertz to Arsenal and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli on Wednesday.

Chelsea have reportedly raised around £120 million.

While Havertz operated as a No. 9 in his final season at Stamford Bridge, he could take on more of a playmaking role in Mikel Arteta's 4-2-3-1 formation.

Arteta hailed the player's versatility Wednesday, saying in a statement that he will "bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play."

Havertz recorded 31 goals and 13 assists in 137 appearances for Chelsea, notably scoring the winner in the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City.

He initially joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in September 2020 for a reported £75.8-million fee.

Havertz is the latest player to swap west London for the red half of north London, along with William Gallas, Petr Cech, David Luiz, Willian, and most recently, Jorginho.

"It's super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family," the German international said. "This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things. The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high, and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.

"The aim is to win trophies, and I'm going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club. I'm looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for preseason."

Arsenal are also on the verge of signing West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice in a deal reportedly worth up to £105 million.