THEY say good things come to those who wait – and Kai Havertz had waited a long old time for this.
Before last night, it had been a staggering 357 DAYS since Havertz had started a game for Arsenal.
The striker has been dogged by knee and hamstring injuries since February last year, playing just 92 minutes of football off the bench.
Havertz marked his first start in style and took just 15 minutes to find the net and bag an assist as Arsenal cruised their way to a 3-2 victory over Kairat Almaty.
The German’s assist came within two minutes as he teed up Viktor Gyokeres, who genuinely could have had six before half time.
The Swede was so wasteful in front of goal and ended up with just one to his name, as Gabriel Martinelli joined him and Havertz on the scoresheet.
GYOK TO SCORE
Arsenal fans left stunned by Gyokeres miss with goal gaping
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This was not the grandest stage for Havertz to mark his comeback, but it was still a huge boost for Arsenal.
On a night of drama in the Champions League this was about the only dead rubber going given the Gunners had already booked a spot in the last 16.
Kairat – already eliminated after taking one point from their seven games – offered little resistance to Arsenal.
Havertz looked a cut above as he cruised around the pitch.
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It felt like the German had more time on the ball than anyone else and Mikel Arteta will surely be tempted to start him against Leeds on Saturday.
Havertz played 45 minutes before coming off at half time, with the game won and his fitness proved.
Gyokeres’ wastefulness in front of goal underlined how the striker spot in this Arsenal team is up for grabs, and Havertz must fancy his chances of taking it.
He started in midfield last night, but it feels like he is the man to lead the line for the rest of the season.
And what an end to the season it could be for Arsenal, especially if Havertz finds form.
There are far tougher tests ahead for both him and his team-mates, but Arteta’s side look like they will take some stopping in Europe.
Arsenal ratings vs Kairat: Havertz back firing as Gyokeres puts in most perplexing display yet
ARSENAL trudged past Kazakh visitors Kairat in a game that felt like more of a training exercise than a Champions League clash.
Mikel Arteta made 11 changes from the team that lost to Manchester United on Sunday.
But his immense squad depth meant his side didn’t look out of place on top of the European table.
And even much-maligned striker Victor Gyokeres got a rare goal to put the cherry on the cake.
Victory means Arsenal have a flawless record in the Champions League this season, eight wins from eight and only four goals conceded.
They have also not been behind for a single second during the league phase of the competition.
Here’s how SunSport Arsenal reporter Joshua Hall rated each individual performance…
This was the easiest of Arsenal’s eight wins in this season’s Champions League and that was hardly a shock given the opponent.
The only nervy moment was when Riccardo Calafiori was pinged by VAR for pulling Jorginho’s shirt minutes after Gyokeres’ opener.
It was a silly error from the Italian – who was making his comeback after a month out with a calf injury – and Jorginho dispatched the penalty.
The away end went wild, however that was the only cheer they had on a night where Arsenal bossed the game.
Those who had made the trip from Kazakhstan saw a completely different Arsenal team to the one that was defeated by Manchester United last Sunday.
Arteta made 11 changes to his team from that side, which is something that he has not done since December 2020.
All the buzz was around Havertz starting and his return lifted the mood after a nervy weekend at the Emirates where Arsenal had their lead at the top of the Prem cut to four points.
Arteta held a clear-the-air meeting with the squad on Monday after that and the message was for them to “jump on the boat” and enjoy their football.
The Gunners boss would have been within his rights to give his players the stick after the United game, but they enjoyed the Kairat here.
After Havertz had teed up Gyokeres, he was on the scoresheet himself barely 10 minutes later as the German fired an effort home.
It was his first goal for Arsenal in 360 days and he will hope it is the first of many this season.
The chances flowed from there – but Gyokeres could not take them.
One miss was especially bad as he tried to divert home a cross from Myles Lewis-Skelly. The ball went out for a corner instead of finding the back of the net.
Even the third goal, which was tapped home by Martinelli, came after Gyokeres had fluffed the tap-in himself.
That goal in the 36th minute killed the game and the second half was always going to be a question of how many Arsenal fancied scoring.
The answer was zero and Kairat were spared an absolute hiding.
Gabriel Jesus thought he had made it 4-1 with two minutes to go, but the striker’s goal was ruled out for offside by VAR.
Kairat pulled a goal back right at the death with virtually the last kick of the game.
Substitute Ricardinho headed home at the back post after a cross to the back post found him unmarked.
It gave the travelling fans one last cheer as they bowed out of the Champions League and Arsenal marched on.
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