In the match between Arsenal and Bournemouth held on the 30th (Korean time), a scene was created in which players gave up a penalty kick for a teammate and celebrated together.
Arsenal visited the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, to play the 7th round of the 2023/24 English Premier League. Arsenal showed the side of a strong team and easily defeated Bournemouth 4-0. Meanwhile, a player going through ups and downs at Arsenal also left his name on the scoring record. This is Kai Havertz, who moved from Chelsea last summer. 안전놀이터
Havertz scored a penalty kick taken by Martin Odegaard inside the Bournemouth penalty box in the 6th minute of the second half, putting an end to his career, which had suffered from a long goal drought.
Havertz, who played for Chelsea in the 2022/23 season and scored once in a draw with Everton in March, has not scored in the league in 15 games for Chelsea since then. Havertz, who went 196 days without scoring a goal, moved to Arsenal, another prestigious team in London, for a transfer fee of 106 billion won, due to the fact that he uses his left foot well, and played in all six league games, four of them as a starter. However, he failed to score and seemed to be losing ground, but he ended up scoring a penalty kick in the 7th round of the league against
Bournemouth.
However, Havertz is not Arsenal’s dedicated penalty kicker.
The dedicated kicker was Gabriel Jesus, but Odegaard personally persuaded Jesus to let Havertz take the penalty kick. As if in return, Havertz completely deceived the goalkeeper and calmly scored a penalty kick to the bottom left corner. I received congratulations from all of the team members.
In particular, Odegaard hugged and stroked Havertz's head, and other team members, including Jejus, patted his head as if they were having a hard time. Havertz was so moved that he couldn't even celebrate properly and sent a thank you note to Odegaard and Jesus with a relieved smile.
This heart-warming scene is expected to have a greatly positive effect on the overall team atmosphere at Arsenal.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said in an interview after the game that he was impressed by the team's morale boost, saying, "I'm happy with the win. But what makes me happier is the character the players showed today." “It is positive that the players came forward and sympathized with their teammate without me having to say anything directly. It was a very natural empathy,” said Coach Arteta. “I am very happy that the players made that decision (to give up the penalty kick to Havertz). “And I’m just grateful that Arsenal fans sing Havertz’s name and make me happy,” he added.
Arteta also said, "The important thing is to remove the question mark," and added, "Havertz was consistently contributing to the team. There should have been a question mark (about the result), and today he solved it," and expressed his support for Havertz. sent. He then cited a quote from Jamaica's track and field star Usain Bolt and said, "Like Usain Bolt, who said he worked hard for 4 years to run 9 seconds, Havertz seems to have seen the light after several weeks of hard work," and said, "I'm happy." reported.
Arsenal captain Odegaard is carrying out his duties as team captain despite his young age of 24. At the press conference ahead of the 6th round league match against Tottenham Hotspur on the 24th, Manager Arteta praised Odegaard, saying, "Odegaard is the perfect captain" and "He always makes the right choice for the team." In addition, after Odegaard renewed his contract to stay at Arsenal until 2028, he said it was "good news" and indicated that Odegaard is a player who receives the manager's favor.
Odegaard is not only a player with great character. His skills are also outstanding. Odegaard, who is active in the league this season with 3 goals and 1 assist in 7 games, is one of the best midfielders, creating 11 chances out of all starts. He also has the ability to dribble at a high rate to create space for other players or finish off the ball himself.
In the game against Bournemouth, he recorded 1 goal and 1 assist and was selected as Man of the Match (MOM) with 8.9 points according to the soccer statistics platform ‘Foot Mob’.
Odegaard's consideration for his colleagues is similar to Son Heung-min of rival club Tottenham.
In Tottenham, Brazilian striker Richarlison, who has been underperforming recently, suffered to the point where he burst into tears on the bench during an international match, but Tottenham coach Angie Postecoglou and captain Son Heung-min are helping him make a comeback.
In the match against Sheffield United in the 5th round of the Premier League on the 16th of last month, Richarlison saved the team from a 1-0 defeat by scoring 1 goal and 1 assist after coming on as a substitute in the 35th minute of the second half.
Richarlison, who scored only 1 goal throughout the season by scoring 1 goal in the 34th round match against Liverpool in May of the 2022/23 season, set a goal record by scoring against Sheffield after 139 days. Tottenham players, including Son Heung-min, pushed him toward the stands so that Richarlison could receive the cheers of the home fans after the game ended.