Havertz: It's a pleasure to play football with these players – Arseblog News

Kai Havertz extended his goal streak at the Emirates Stadium to six games in a row as Arsenal secured a 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain, suggesting Mikel Arteta's players are growing in stature on the European front.

The German international, winner of the 2021 Champions League with Chelsea, showed a thrilling performance against the Ligue 1 champions, breaking the deadlock with a powerful header after 20 minutes and at the same time winning the most duels (10) that evening.

Reflecting on his goal – which saw him slide into the penalty area before beating Gianluigi Donnarumma for a teasing header from Leandro Trossard – he told Arsenal.com: “If you see the players we have on the ball when they “If you're outside, it's me.” Since I'm tall, I like to use the space and help the team on these runs. Today it worked quite well, we train a lot with it.

Havertz was later named player of the match by UEFA, who praised his “smart moves” and “good understanding with his fellow strikers”.

“When you have players like that around you, it’s just a joy to play football,” added the German.

“It's the start of the season and we can get even better. I think we’re all looking forward to the next few weeks.”

Havertz will equal Robin van Persie's seven-game tally if he scores against Southampton at the Emirates on Saturday, something few would have bet against given the form of both parties.

“For me it just feels like home,” said the 25-year-old about his goal in front of the fans.

“It feels nice to play here, the atmosphere is great, the support is great. Sometimes when the game goes against you, all the supporters are important to us. We feel that a lot on the pitch, it helps me a lot and gives me a lot of self-confidence.”

In his post-match press conference, manager Arteta was full of praise for a player who appeared to be signed as a midfielder but has proven to be a success as a leader.

“So powerful, but also so intelligent,” said the Spaniard.

“The way he occupies space, the way he connects everything, his work ethic and now that he's in the box, you feel like he's going to score a goal.”

“The goal was great, I think overall the performance was as good as his, so I'm really happy with it.”

Arteta was also delighted to win the scalp of a major European club after falling to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last season.

“I felt them differently on Monday when we were preparing the game and how they wanted it, the level of concentration.

“I think they wanted to prove a point at home tonight against a top team, be ourselves and also be very dominant. This is another step, we have to keep doing it.”

And about the result, which inspires even more confidence in his team to compete with the best teams in the world, he added: “I think it makes for very special European Cup nights against big clubs.” This belief increases the energy and the spirit of everyone.

“First of all, it's about believing that you can compete against these incredible teams and have a really good chance of beating them, and that you're good enough to beat them. I think it will be really helpful.”