Kai Havertz, who married his long-term girlfriend Sophia a few weeks ago in Bergisch Gladbach, has been at the Gunners since the summer of 2023. The former Leverkusen player started with the Bayer 04 U13 squad, turned professional and won his first international cap here and then, after ten years under the Cross, he moved on to the Premier League in 2020 to play for Chelsea and he scored the winner in the Champions League final in 2022.
Havertz quickly became a key player at Arsenal. The offensive player scored 13 goals last season for the Premier League runners-up who were involved in an exciting three-way race for the league title alongside Liverpool and Manchester City. Arsenal finished second two points behind City and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool were third.
Under coach Mikel Arteta, Arsenal had the best defence in the Premier League conceding just 29 goals in 38 games and they had the second best attack with 91 goals scored with Manchester City (96) top. The most prolific goalscorer for the Gunners was the England international Bukayo Saka with 16 ahead of Kai Havertz (13) and the Belgian Leandro Trossard (12).
Arsenal have strengthened their already outstanding defence built around the two central defenders William Saliba and Gabriel as well as goalkeeper David Raya who was in the winning Spain squad at Euro 2024: Riccardo Calafiori joined Arsenal from Bologna at the start of last week. The Italy international was one of the outstanding players in the Azzurri squad at the European Championships in Germany. Calafiori can play as a central defender as well as on the left side of defence and in holding midfield. The 22-year-old Roman not only stands out as a tough tackler but is also as a technically and tactically gifted player on the break with a great desire to get up the pitch.
Talking about the Euro 2024 shooting star, the target for a lot of top European clubs, Arsenal coach Arteta said: "He gives us additional strength to improve our defence. Riccardo has a big personality and a great character – and also specific skills to make us stronger on the way to winning trophies."
The Gunners' midfield is controlled by captain Martin Ödegaard, the England international Declan Rice and Jorginho, Calafiori’s teammate in the Azzurri line-up. Kai Havertz plays in attacking midfield or up front. In addition to the former Leverkusen player and the already mentioned Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard the two Brazilians Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli are also tasked with finding the back of the net. Arsenal may venture into the transfer market again in the next few weeks to strengthen the attack.
Ahead of the coming campaign, the club from North London went on a tour of the USA where they played two friendlies against Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. While Arsenal beat United 2-1, they lost by the same scoreline few days later in the match against Liverpool in front of a crowd of 69,879 at the Lincoln Financial Field. Kai Havertz scored the goal for the Gunners.
Coach Mikel Arteta, who ended his playing career at Arsenal in 2016, has been the head coach at the club since 2019. Before that, he was assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City for several years. Arteta and Bayer 04 coach Xabi Alonso know each other well. Both played together in the youth set-up at the Basque club Antiguoko and later for the Spain U21 side.
Last season, ahead of the quarter-final exit against Bayern Munich in the Champions League (2-2; 0-1) he congratulated his "good friend Xabi" and former player Granit Xhaka on winning the Bundesliga title. Xhaka played for the Gunners for seven years where he won the FA Cup twice and the Community Shield. Wednesday's match will be special for the Werkself midfield maestro.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
Show more
On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
Show more
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
Show more
