Arsenal midfielder Kai Havertz has affirmed that he feels "very comfortable" at the Emirates following a difficult period of adaptation to his new role.
The Germany international failed to truly settle during his three years at Chelsea, where he was used in a multitude of positions but would often be deployed as the focal point of the Blues' attack.
After a hit-and-miss spell in West London, where he scored the winner in the 2020-21 Champions League final but never managed more than eight goals in a Premier League season, eyebrows were raised when Arsenal forked out £65m for his signature in the summer window.
Mikel Arteta expressed his belief that the 24-year-old could fill the void left by Granit Xhaka's exit in the engine room, and he immediately forced his way into the first XI, joining Martin Odegaard and fellow new boy Declan Rice in the midfield triumvirate.
Havertz's early days at Arsenal were marred by a string of underwhelming performances from a player evidently low on confidence, and not until his 10th game for the club did he directly contribute to a goal, scoring a penalty in a 4-0 win over Bournemouth.
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Nevertheless, Arteta repeatedly urged Gooners to keep faith in the former Bayer Leverkusen protege, who has slowly come into his own since opening his Gunners account and now has five goals in all competitions this season.
A standout winter period saw Havertz bag three goals in five Premier League matches from November 25 to December 17, and he completed the full 90 minutes in Sunday's 3-1 win over Liverpool, albeit while failing to register a goal or assist.
The visit of the Reds saw Havertz make his 15th Premier League start of the campaign, though, and while he acted as Arsenal's central striker in that game with Gabriel Jesus injured, he has embraced the defensive responsibility of his new midfield position.
"Before, I used to focus a lot just on the offence, but defence is also a big part of the game and I knew that so I've worked on that quite a lot," Havertz told Sky Sports News. I've been getting used to all the players, to the style of football and now, I feel very comfortable in the team so that's good.
"We [Havertz, Odegaard and Rice] are all young, I think we are a similar age group. It's amazing to play with them. They're both top players and we are still getting used to each other, it is only five months that we've known each other. Hopefully there's a big future ahead of us as well.
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"I'm a player who always wants to attack the box, wants to make those runs and I think it's always important to sometimes, not even get the ball, but to create space for other players. So I like to do these runs and I think they are always important to our game.
"People don't watch the games, they just see the goals and assists and if no one scored, they had a bad game. But for me, I didn't start playing football because of this. Obviously it's the best thing to do to score goals, and I love it, but there are a lot of different things you have to do in the game as well.
"I want to score goals, I want to assist and that's the nicest thing you can do, so I just try my best every game for that. I think I adapted very well and I love being with my mates there, with the team. It's a lot of fun in the dressing room and on the pitch, it is hard work, but also fun. It makes me happy."
Arsenal's deserved beating of Liverpool saw the Gunners move to within two points of Jurgen Klopp's side in the table, although Manchester City are also above Arteta's men on goal difference with a game in hand.
The North London giants travel to capital rivals West Ham United for their next Premier League affair on Sunday, where Havertz could reprise his role in attack if Jesus fails to recover from a knee injury.
Ben Knapton
