New Arsenal signing Kai Havertz has immediately become the Gunners' highest-paid squad member, it has been claimed.
The German international wrapped up his move from Chelsea in June, joining in a deal worth £65m. He has taken the number 29 shirt - the same number he wore when he scored the winning goal for his former club in the 2021 Champions League final.
Thomas Partey was thought to be the Gunners' top earner, albeit on less than former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was making in North London. Now, though, Havertz's five-year deal blows the rest of the squad out of the water.
According to Bild (via Goal ), the former Bayer Leverkusen star will make roughly £17m a year or £331,000 per week. Ghanaian midfielder Partey signed a deal worth a reported £198,000 per week upon completing his 2020 move from Atletico Madrid.
Havertz will soon be joined at the Emirates Stadium by Declan Rice, who can also expect a significant wage increase when his move from West Ham is made official. Hammers owner David Sullivan claimed the club captain turned down an offer of £200,000 per week to stay at the London Stadium.
Rice will become Arsenal's record signing when he completes his move for a fee which could rise to a British record of £105m with add-ons. The Gunners faced competition from Manchester City for the England midfielder, but will now break their current club record of £72m to bring him across London.
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“It's super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family," Havertz said upon completing his move. "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.”
Manager Mikel Arteta also spoke highly of the German, despite Havertz struggling in his final Chelsea season. The former Bayer Leverkusen star scored 32 goals in three seasons as a Chelsea player, but only nine of those came last term as the Blues slumped to a 12th-place finish.
“Kai is a player of top quality," Arteta said. "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.”
