How two Chelsea flops playing key roles at Tottenham and Arsenal

Chelsea hasn’t had a goal scorer as prolific and fearsome as Diego Costa, whose number nine shirt is often labelled as cursed at Stamford Bridge, since his days.

But in 2020, Chelsea had a shopping trip to the Bundesliga and came back to west London with Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who were then the jewels in the German premier league.

Werner was dominating at RB Leipzig and had made a name for himself as one of the world’s most dangerous strikers, frightening opponents with his amazing speed and finishing ability.

At Bayer Leverkusen, too, Havertz was stealing the show. He was hailed as the best prodigy in the league and was compared to German greats like Michael Ballack and Mesut Ozil.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – MARCH 23: Timo Werner watches Kai Havertz juggle with the ball during a training session of Germany at the Eintracht Frankfurt training ground on March 23, 2022 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Werner and Havertz scored 34 and 18 goals in all competitions before to joining the Premier League, respectively, but they were unable to duplicate that success in the league.

After spending two years at Chelsea, Werner returned to Leipzig at the beginning of the 2022–2023 season with a pitiful 23 goals in 89 games. He also missed more good opportunities than he scored.

Havertz, a three-year Chelsea employee, scored only 32 goals in 139 appearances before leaving the team at the beginning of this season with his compatriot.

Despite their dismal goal-scoring record, the German team left Chelsea with three major titles, including the Champions League.

rewriting their sections on Premier League
Werner was on the outskirts at Leipzig after failing to regain his goal-scoring ways, but Tottenham Hotspur gave him a chance to turn his Chelsea experience around and save his Premier League career.

The 28-year-old, who was beloved by Chelsea supporters in spite of his difficulties in the closing third, signed a loan deal with Spurs in January to help with their terrible injury problems up front.

Although there were concerns regarding Werner’s performance, he has already contributed significantly to Tottenham’s push for a top-four finish, scoring two goals and providing two assists in seven Premier League games.

His most recent goal came in the 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa, a team in the top four. He scored after just seven minutes, having come on as James Maddison’s replacement in the 87th.

Ange Postecoglou’s fast-paced offensive approach appears to fit the German, who struggled with consistency at Chelsea, albeit expectations are far lower than in west London.

Even if he is not the goal-scoring machine he once was, Werner still makes a significant contribution to Spurs; in the league, only Dejan Kulusevski (1.7) completes more dribbles per ninety than Werner (1.5).

The German has settled very well back in London and will surely be a key player in Tottenham’s fight for a top-four spot.

At Arsenal, his compatriot is having the same impact.

When the Gunners paid £60 million to acquire Havertz, many people took notice, especially considering that he had a dismal season in which he scored just seven goals in 35 Premier League appearances.

During his three years with Chelsea, he never scored more than ten goals. In actuality, he scored eight goals and provided four assists in 29 Premier League games during the 2021/22 season, which was his greatest total.

Nevertheless, Havertz has turned into a vital member of Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup after overcoming a shaky start to life at the Emirates Stadium.

With ten games left, he has already tied his greatest single-season goal total for Chelsea and is on track to score ten goals for the first time in his Premier League career.

Havertz has also scored several crucial goals for Arsenal this year; most recently, against Brentford, he lifted his team to the top of the league and assumed control of the title fight with a last-minute header.

Havertz’s potential may have finally been realised, as “the silky German” is currently ranked ahead of Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus. Arteta had vowed to bring out the best in Havertz.

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