OFFICIAL: Arsenal Announces Kai Havertz Signing From London Rivals Chelsea.

Arsenal have officially announce the signing of Kai Harvertz from Chelsea on a long-term contract.

The Germany international has been negotiating a switch across London to the Emirates Stadium over the last couple of weeks. 

He underwent his medical ahead of the transfer over the weekend.

Havertz moved to the Premier League by signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2029 from German club Bayer Leverkusen.

During his three seasons in West London he made 139 appearances, scoring 32 goals and assisting 15 times in all competitions for the Blues, despite spending the majority of his time playing as a centre forward.

Last season, Harvertz showcased his talent at Chelsea, scoring seven goals and providing one assist in the Premier League following their disappointing 12th-place finish in the league table.

Kai memorably scored the only goal of the match in Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final in Porto.

The 24-year-old's potential arrival had generated immense excitement among Gunners supporters, who have been eagerly awaiting news of new signings to bolster their squad for the upcoming season.

His first interview with Arsenal's club media has leaked online on Tuesday, where he confirmed he would be taking his favoured number 29 at the Emirates Stadium.

He previously wore the number 29 shirt at Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea, though has settled on the number 7 at international level with Germany.

Speaking after the completion of the transfer Havertz said: “It's super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family. This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things.

“The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.

“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club. I'm now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta added: “Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.

“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”

We keep moving forward.​

Kai Havertz is a Gunner ❤️ pic.twitter.com/76j5BStw9e

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 28, 2023

Following confirmation of Havertz's signing, Arsenal are now set to prioritise their pursuit of West Ham United's captain Declan Rice.

The Hammers have just communicated to their London rivals that they’re accepting £100m plus £5m add-ons fee, although there are still issues to be ironed out over the deal structure, and payment terms, as the Europa League winners, want £100m to be paid within 18 months.

The Gunners are also believed to be in advanced talks over the signing of Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, while Havertz's arrival could open the door for Granit Xhaka to complete his proposed £13m move to Leverkusen.