Arsenal are flying this season, and it looks like they have just one thing on their mind: trophies.
Mikel Arteta's side are back atop the Premier League table and through to the Champions League quarter-finals to boot.
The Spaniard seems to be getting everything right at the moment, and his decision to sign Kai Havertz is looking better with every passing game.
Although, for as good as the German has been, a former academy gem who left for nothing has actually outperformed him over the last two years and is now worth a lot of money.
Kai Havertz performances for Arsenal
The Gunners completed the £65m signing of Havertz from Chelsea last July, and while Arteta was delighted, describing the German as "top quality," there were plenty of detractors in the media.
In fact, talkSPORT's Gabby Agbonlahor was still firing shots at the Spanish manager earlier this year, criticising him for "spending money very stupidly" and arguing that he had "cost Arsenal the title" by signing the former Bayer Leverkusen ace. However, the Arsenal boss has had the last laugh.
In the last four league matches, his £65m ace has scored four goals, including the winner against Brentford, and provided two assists to help the team reclaim top spot ahead of the international break.
So far, the 24-year-old has scored nine goals and provided three assists in 39 appearances this season, meaning he has averaged a goal involvement every 3.25 games. That isn't too bad for a player who's primarily played in midfield and was cast aside as a flop before he even had a chance to prove people wrong.
What's even more impressive is that the Aachen-born dynamo has already surpassed his tally of nine goals and one assist that he registered with Chelsea last season, and he still has at least 12 more games to add to his tally this season.
Appearances
47
39
Goals
9
9
Assists
1
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.21
0.30
While he hasn't been a world-beater, it would be hard to call Havertz's first season at the Emirates anything other than a success, although a former academy gem has outperformed him over the last two years. The player in question is Crystal Palace sensation Eberechi Eze.
Why Arsenal released Eberechi Eze
Eze played in Arsenal's academy between the ages of nine and 13 before being released. Why? Well, he was allegedly too small.
Opening up on such a cruel period in his development as a teen, the now Palace star once told the press: "It started at Arsenal. I was 13 [when I was released]. That was the worst one. I remember crying in my room for a solid week, my mum telling me that it’s going to be OK but not being able to get over it."
This setback was followed by spells in Fulham and Millwall's youth setups before he finally found a more permanent place to settle at Queens Park Rangers.
The Greenwich-born gem spent four years with QPR, making 112 appearances across three and a half seasons, scoring 20 goals and providing 13 assists.
Eberechi Eze's transfer valuation in 2024
His impressive form and silky skills subsequently saw Palace spend £20m to sign him in August 2020.
In the seasons since, the twice-capped international has made 115 appearances for the Eagles, in which he's scored 21 goals and provided 14 assists.
However, 23 of those goal involvements have come since the start of the 2022/23 season, coincidentally just edging out Havertz's return of 22 in the same period.
Appearances
36
17
40
22
Goals
4
1
10
6
Assists
6
1
4
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.27
0.11
0.35
0.40
This impressive form from the 5 foot 10 dynamo has understandably caught the attention of some of the biggest teams in the world, including Manchester United.
The Red Devils were reportedly interested in signing the Palace star in January, but it would have cost them around £77m, which might just make the person in charge of releasing him at Arsenal wince a little.
Ultimately, clubs release talented youngsters all the time in football, and while Arteta may wish he could call upon the mercurial brilliance of Eze at the Emirates, he seems happy enough with his new German goalscorer.