Mikel Arteta insists 'something has changed' with Arsenal star after matching club record

Arsenal are surging towards another Premier League title tilt, with the form of Kai Havertz improving Mikel Arteta's attack and seeing the ex-Chelsea man equal a Gunners record

Mikel Arteta hailed Kai Havertz after the in-form Arsenal star scored once again to equal a club record.

Havertz, 25, endured a difficult first season with the Gunners following his £65million transfer move from Chelsea but now the forward is silencing his critics. With a goal to equalise in Arsenal's 2-1 comeback win at home to Southampton on Saturday, Havertz has now scored in each of his last seven home games - a feat only one player has managed before, Robin van Persie in 2012.

The Germany international is well on the way to eclipsing his goal tally of 13 for the entirety of last season and Arteta knows that 'something has changed' in the time since then. "You can tell," the Gunners boss acknowledged post-match.

"He takes the ball and he runs with the ball. He's on high press, he goes full gas, the way he holds the ball, the position he takes in the box. He's an attacking midfielder, he plays as a nine, you don't know where he is, that’s his football brain. His focus now is, 'I'm going to win the game, I'm going to do it' and that’s a different thing.

On him equaling Van Persie's record, Arteta said: "He is [brimming with confidence]. When he's practising, he wants more and he's not satisfied with what he's doing because there is still, I think, another level from him.

"Obviously, he's surrounded by incredible players but something has changed in him and that confidence, you really sense it and now he's putting it into games and he's winning football matches which is great."

Havertz's superb form perhaps might explain Arsenal's decision not to invest in a new striker during the summer transfer window. Despite lining up as a midfielder while captain Martin Odegaard remains out injured, the German regularly found space in the box and finished like a seasoned striker against the Saints.

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Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

"He takes the ball, he runs with the ball. On the high press, he goes full gas. He is an attacking midfielder who plays as a No.9," Arteta added. "You don't know where he is. He wants more, he is not satisfied. There is still another level [to come] from home."

Havertz will return to action for Arsenal after international break, as the Gunners travel to Bournemouth before two more home games. They'll host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League before welcoming potential title rivals Liverpool.

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