Chelsea Criticized by Former Star! Letting Havertz Leave Was a Major Mistake: They Cannot Keep Sending Stars to Rivals

On Sunday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal defeated London rivals Chelsea, with former player Kai Havertz scoring again against his old club. Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea the lead in the match, but Havertz scored and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard also found the net to help the team complete the comeback.

The 27-year-old Havertz moved to north London for £65 million and, since leaving Chelsea, he has scored against the Blues four times. Joe Cole strongly criticized the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, accusing them of making a mistake by letting Havertz leave.

"If you have Kai Havertz in your squad, you should be watching his performances day after day," Joe Cole said on the program. "Managers come and go, but the sporting director is there for the long term. Look at how much money the club has spent on the striker position since letting him go."

"It simply cannot be explained. This kind of mistake has to stop. Kevin De Bruyne leaving was one example, and Havertz is another."

"This never happened at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson or at Arsenal during Arsene Wenger's era. When have you ever heard of them letting a player leave, only for that player to go to a rival and develop into a world-class star?"

Havertz joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 and made 139 appearances for the Blues, scoring 32 goals, including the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final.

Since joining Arsenal, he has scored 39 goals in 115 matches, surpassing his numbers from his Chelsea era. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also highly praised Havertz's performance against Chelsea.

"To replace Havertz's role in this team, you would need to bring in a player from the very top level of world football," Carragher said on Sky Sports. "It would have to be someone like Ian Wright, who could consistently score 30 goals a season, or Thierry Henry. Gyokeres could never replace Havertz, and I do not think Morgan Rogers could either."

"It is not only about individual ability in attack, but also the value he brings to the team. A major reason Arsenal are difficult to break down is their excellent pressing in the attacking areas. When opponents break through the first line of pressure, the whole team can quickly recover into position, and Havertz often drops back to defend around 25-30 yards from his own goal."

"If you find a world-class goalscorer, a player focused only on improving his scoring numbers, and ask him to do this kind of defensive work, he will not want to do it."