Kai Havertz has spoken of the ‘very special’ spirit at Arsenal as he prepares for his second Champions League final, five years after scoring the winner for Chelsea. The Germany striker netted the decisive goal in the 2021 final against Manchester City and is now aiming to repeat the feat for Arsenal against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on Saturday.
Havertz, 26, recalled the 2021 final as ‘something I will never forget’ and admitted that playing in the showpiece is ‘unreal’. He said: ‘As a kid I could have never dreamed I would score a goal in the final and win that game. I just try to take that feeling and hopefully it will happen again.’
The forward missed almost five months of this season after sustaining a knee injury on the opening day, requiring two surgeries. He described being in ‘a bad place’ during his recovery but credited teammates and staff for helping him return to form. ‘Everyone told me from January how there is so much to play. That is where my momentum shifted,’ he said.
Havertz has been preferred to £64m summer signing Viktor Gyökeres in recent games and is determined to repay Mikel Arteta’s faith. He praised the manager for teaching him ‘so much on and off the pitch’ and said winning the Premier League title was a ‘gift’ for Arteta, who brought the club ‘back to where it belongs’.
Arsenal arrive as underdogs, much like Chelsea in 2021, but Havertz believes the team’s spirit is strong. He pointed to the Carabao Cup final loss to City as a turning point, saying: ‘We felt we could do so much better. From that moment things changed and we were more successful.’
