A teenager has been arrested after Arsenal forward Kai Havertz’s wife Sophia was sent social media abuse following the club’s third-round exit to Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Havertz, 25, missed a penalty in Arsenal’s shootout defeat at the Emirates Stadium on 12 January, when Sophia, who is expecting her first child with the footballer, said she received abusive messages on Instagram.
A 17-year-old boy from St Albans has been arrested on suspicion of sending malicious communications, Hertfordshire Constabulary said. The force said the teenager has been bailed while inquiries continue.
In response to the messages, Sophia wrote the culprit should be “ashamed” of themselves, while Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said online abuse of players has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.
Arsenal tasked data technology company Signify with determining the identity of the abusers. The couple have got married last year, with Sophia announcing in November that she was pregnant.
His team-mate Leandro Trossard said: “Obviously there are always people that will say something if a striker is not scoring but Kai has helped us so much over the past year and a half.
“He is so good for us, not just in terms of scoring but he helps us get up the pitch too, and he is such a big player.
“It helped him (that he scored against Aston Villa). He is a confidence player, but it is up to us to get him in those positions (to score).”
Havertz has been an Arsenal player since 2023 after he joined the north London club in a £65million move from fellow London side Chelsea.
The forward has played 80 games for Arsenal to date, conjuring up 27 goals and 10 assists. He has been in a relationship with German model and social media influencer Sophia since 2018.
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