Kai Havertz has taken a swipe at the English press while sticking up for a close friend at a rival club, and he did not hold back.
Kai Havertz has never been shy of speaking his mind. This time, though, the Arsenal forward was not talking about himself. He was defending Florian Wirtz, his old Bayer Leverkusen team-mate, who has had a rough ride since joining Liverpool.
Wirtz moved to Anfield from Leverkusen for €125m in the summer of 2025 and has struggled to win over his critics. The 23-year-old has two goals and five assists in all competitions this season, and some pundits have already suggested Liverpool should cash in.
What did Havertz say about the English press?
Havertz, speaking to Sky Germany with the national team, made it clear he has little time for the way the debate has been framed in England.
“I know how the English press reports things from time to time,” he said. “I think he’s playing very, very good football this season too.”
He argued that the numbers miss most of what Wirtz brings. “He’s involved in the game, creates chances for his team-mates and poses a threat himself,” Havertz said. “I’ve seen him play very, very well many times over the past year and a half. For me, he’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with.”
“No goal, no assist, so he must have played badly”
The sharpest line was aimed less at newspapers and more at how opinions get formed now.
“We live in a world where many, many people out there don’t watch the games at all, but then go on the app and see: ‘No goal, no assist, so he must have played badly,'” Havertz said.
He also had no time for the idea that Liverpool should let Wirtz go. “He’ll definitely find his way and become a huge player for Liverpool,” he said.
Why Havertz knows exactly how Wirtz feels
There is more than a hint of personal experience in all this. Havertz arrived at Arsenal from Chelsea in 2023 with plenty of people doubting the move, and he spent a good while being judged on the same narrow numbers he is now complaining about.
He has answered most of that since. He is one of the key men under Mikel Arteta, and he recently broke the Premier League scoring record for a German player. Even so, the debate around him has not gone away, as our look at how often he has been caught offside this season showed.
The two go back a long way. They played together at Leverkusen and are team-mates again with Germany this month, so this is a friend talking as much as a footballer.
Will Gooners mind him backing a Liverpool player?
Some Arsenal fans will raise an eyebrow at one of their own talking up a player from a direct rival, especially earlier this month after Arsenal finally ended their long wait for a win at Anfield. We would not read too much into that side of it.
What matters more for Arsenal is the tone. This is a player comfortable enough in his own skin to take on the narrative publicly, and that confidence shows in his football too, and it is one reason the conversation about his next Arsenal contract is a serious one.
Is Havertz right about Wirtz?
On the broad point, yes. Judging a creative player only on goals and assists is lazy, and Havertz has lived that criticism himself. Wirtz’s output for a €125m player is modest, and Liverpool will want more, but one season and a bit is a short time to write off a player of his age.
From an Arsenal point of view, the best outcome is simple: Havertz keeps that edge in his own game when he returns from Germany duty, and Wirtz takes his time finding his feet somewhere other than against us.
