DEEP DIVE: is Arteta recreating the Centurions midfield?

A lot has been made of Kai Havertz’s signing, and to be honest, understandably so. Arsenal fans are skeptical of where the German will fit in the Arsenal team – will he play as a CAM, a LCM, a RW, a ST – no one can say for sure.

With multiple reports suggesting that Thomas Partey is on his way out, could Mikel Arteta be trying to recreate Manchester City’s Centurions midfield? If so, Kai Havertz could fit into the role that David Silva played as a left-sided CM/second CAM, or even De Bruyne’s position as an advanced midfielder.

How does the rest of the Gunners midfield fit the bill though?

CDM – Declan Rice vs. Fernandinho

Fernandinho occupied a similar role in the Centurions midfield that Thomas Partey does now, but with the Ghanaian anchor looking like he is on the way to Juventus, Declan Rice must fill the void.

The two both share a similar heatmap, patrolling the entirety of the midfield whilst both disrupting opposition possession and starting their own team’s moves.

Declan Rice’s left-sided bias comes as a result of his presence in a team with two DMs, however if he plays as a singular CDM in the centre of the pitch one can only assume that his heatmap will replicate Fernandinho’s.

It’s all good and well to stand in the right places, but does Rice do the right things?

Whilst Declan Rice has already cemented himself as more of a defensive stalwart, his passes per game statistics are considerably less than that of Fernandinho. Will Declan Rice be able to make these numbers up if he played centrally? We will have to see to find out. This will definitely be an interesting one to keep an eye on.

LCM – Martin Odegaard x David Silva

Originally, I saw Odegaard playing in the Kevin De Bruyne role – the most advanced playmaker, the furthest forward midfielder. After all, this is the position that he played and thrived in last season. When you consider the way that Kai Havertz matches up with De Bruyne (as opposed to Silva), it seems like a no-brainer to liken Arsenal’s captain with City’s left-footed architect.

Odegaard’s role as the right-sided central midfielder means that you can’t really compare the Norwegian’s heatmap with that of David Silva. Yet if you look at David Silva’s heatmap from Manchester City’s Centurion season, you can see why Odegaard would be perfect for that role.

Looking at Silva’s heatmap, you can see why the Arsenal captain would thrive. A heavy presence on the left side of the midfield would cater to the Norwegian’s brilliant left foot and although he may not be able to cut inside and shoot as much, you can only imagine that he will have no trouble picking apart defenses with his brilliant passing capabilities. If he were to replicate David Silva’s role, he still can drift to the right and link up with Bukayo Saka, which we have seen him do so effectively this season.

Martin Odegaard shares many similar stats to David Silva’s 2017/18 Premier League campaign already at just 22 years old.

Evidently, what Odegaard lacks in assists, he makes up for in goals, yet a shift to the opposite side of the pitch could see these two stats switch places. Other than that, both him and David Silva share many similar key statistics, proving that the Gunners captain can slot into the left-sided central midfielder role.

RCM – Kai Havertz x Kevin De Bruyne

Whilst Kai Havertz at Chelsea is nowhere near any version of Kevin De Bruyne (especially Centurions Kevin De Bruyne), 20 year old Kai Havertz at Bayer Leverkusen is closer than you would think.

There’s a reason that Mikel Arteta had little hesitation in signing Kai Havertz for £65m and it might just be this – if he can reclaim his form, he might just be the missing piece that this Arsenal midfield needs.

Havertz spent his best seasons at Leverkusen playing all over the pitch, whether that be as a ST, CAM, RW or RCM. Despite this, he often frequented the same areas on the right side of the pitch.

Whilst KDB roamed the attacking midfield much more than Havertz did at Leverkusen, you can easily see he would feel comfortable on the right side of Arsenal’s midfield, combining with Saka and filling the areas that Martin Odegaard won’t when he is playing on the left.

This next part is why Havertz’s signing is so high risk/high reward – he has never had the kind of playmaking output that De Bruyne has. Whilst it’s obvious that he still hasn’t reached his prime, the prospect of Arteta recreating the Centurions midfield relies on the German being able to produce.

The proof is in the pudding – six more goal contributions (+12 assists), four more big chances created and twenty more passes in the opposition half – Kai Havertz has remarkably big shoes to fill. Whilst it’s hard to truly assess the German’s ability due to the dated nature of these statistics and the inconsistency of his positioning, one thing is clear: Mikel Arteta has a lot of work to do in order to make Kai – and the prospect of this new midfield – work.

Right now, these are all just hypotheticals and we won’t truly know what Arteta plans to do until the start of the season. Do you think Arteta has what he needs to make this midfield work?