LONDON — The first game of the season can send clubs into panic buying in the transfer market when suspicious deficiencies are revealed. Instead, Arsenal's 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday offered further evidence of why they have kept their cool so far and might opt not to sign the attacking player many at the Emirates Stadium have coveted all summer.
Kai Havertz was not expected to be capable of scoring the kind of goal that opened the scoring after 25 minutes. Bukayo Saka was given the freedom to be picked out by the north London side but the cross was sublime and Havertz rose above the Wolves defence to place a firm header past Jose Sa.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that although they knew Havertz could play through the middle, having done so at Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea, Arsenal paid £67.5m last summer with the intention of getting him into more regular midfield roles. After a slow start, Havertz made Arsenal work as a No9 in the second half of last season, and he has performed strongly this campaign, suggesting a new striker in the final fortnight of the transfer window may not be necessary.
Havertz needed 20 games to score a goal from open play last season. On Saturday, he needed 25 minutes.
“It was great, the action [for the first goal]”, Arteta said after the match. “It was a great pass, the position we had in the box, the way he attacks the box. Excellent. Great goal.”
“Every player needs time to adapt and get to know everyone: the club, the relationships, the system, but obviously I think he has earned the trust and respect of everyone with the way he has handled certain situations and with the way he acts.”
Arsenal decided to assess their options in the market when their preferred target Benjamin Sesko decided to sign a new contract to stay at RB Leipzig, removing the €65m release clause from his contract. They remain active in the market and hope to sign midfielder Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad if a deal can be reached, while Athletic Club winger Nico Williams remains an interesting target.
The Gunners may yet be able to look for another attacking player, especially if they can find a new home for Eddie Nketiah or Reiss Nelson, but beating Wolves in this manner means the discussion can continue in a measured manner rather than amid mounting concern sparked by a poor opening weekend.
Wolves were having their best spell of the game when Saka finished them off with 16 minutes remaining. In trademark style, Saka cut in from the right and fired a shot past Sá to score another goal in his usual performance.
David Raya had earlier produced a sublime one-handed save to deny Jorgen Strand Larsen a first-half equaliser, and the Spanish goalkeeper is part of a trio, along with Saka and Declan Rice, who deserve credit for starting the domestic campaign in such form just a month after contesting the Euro 2024 final in Germany.
“First of all, [you think you might need to leave them out]”You have to really understand where they are, give them space to breathe. Those lads have been through a lot in the last two years and played a lot of football, but when you see that will, that energy to say, 'I'm very, very happy to be back,' and when they come back and you see that that's genuine, it's a good sign.
“I'm not surprised. That was their mentality immediately after the last game, they said: 'I'm going to be ready for the first game'. I spoke to them after the summer and tried to put together a plan. They wanted to come back and be here soon. They were already preparing when they were on holiday. This is the mentality we need. If the players accept that commitment, they will grow in the team and they will go up a level. That's what we need.”
Arteta has things to work on from now on. Arsenal made multiple mistakes playing out from the back and failed to maintain control in midfield in the second half.
However, they have time to work on these issues before the tricky trip to Aston Villa next weekend, a game they lost last season.
Had there not been a win in this game, the clamour for a search for answers that extended to the transfer market would have been hard to resist. For the moment, however, they can pursue a deal for Merino and consider whether a last-minute move for a striker from a position of strength is necessary.
