Germany forward Kai Havertz, 24, has become Arsenal's highest-paid player on £17m a year after joining from London rivals Chelsea. Will Havertz justify such a high salary?
Large salary differences between players often cause unrest within the team. Football players who play with a lower salary experience a loss of motivation. It also creates a perception of financial injustice for anyone looking from the outside. I believe there should be an upper limit for all teams and all players, not just for Kai Havertz. Because the financial imbalances of the clubs occur because there are no such limits. As a result, such thoughts will put pressure on Kai Havertz in my opinion. Therefore, Kai Havertz may underperform his potential this season. I think such situations create more negative effects than positive effects.
It is common knowledge that the difference in salaries received by players in each squad, previously there were several other players who received high fees at their club before Kai Havertz status became the highest paid player at Arsenal. This situation will encourage other players to contribute better to the team in order to be offered a salary increase when their contract is extended. A domino effect will occur for Kai Havertz, there will be more demands on his shoulders with the salary he receives. He must prove his quality so that Arsenal will not spend large sums of money in vain to pay for his services.
Of course Arsenal have high hopes for him, this time Arsenal are trying to make a big bet on Kai Havertz, they hope that his arrival can provide great benefits for the team. Arteta will certainly support Kai Havertz to become one of the important players in his squad, but if other players are not friendly with the salary Kai Havertz receives it will cause new problems in the Arsenal squad.
I don’t think it should be a cause of big concern for anyone. Because I believe a player can be better than the others. But it is also true that some other players might think they are deserving of this type of salary. That's why there might be some problems in the team.
But I think the players should understand that if they perform better, they are actually going to get better salaries in the future as well. Added pressure is something that he might face regarding the fact that he is getting paid so well. But I believe he is actually worthy of that much money and I don’t think he will be performing badly just because of some added pressure.