Kai Havertz (27, Arsenal) scored the winning goal against Liverpool, etching his name into English Premier League history. He surpassed İlkay Gündoğan’s record to become the highest-scoring German player in Premier League history.
Global sports outlet ESPN reported on the 2nd (KST) that “Kai Havertz has become the German player with the most goals in Premier League history.”
Havertz scored the winning goal in the 16th minute of the first half in Arsenal’s away match against Liverpool in the ninth round of the 2026-2027 Premier League season at Anfield in Liverpool, England on the 2nd, leading Arsenal to a 1-0 victory.
With this victory, Arsenal maintained their lead in the Premier League and extended the gap to second place to three points. They also broke a long-standing jinx by winning an away match at Anfield for the first time in about 14 years since September 2012.
At the center of the historic victory was Havertz.
In the 16th minute of the first half, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s inaccurate pass was read by Martin Ødegaard, the ball went via Noni Madueke to Declan Rice. Rice sent a low, fast cross from the right side. Positioned in front of the opposite goal, Havertz pushed the ball in with his left foot to open the scoring.
The goal was Havertz’s 46th in the Premier League. It was the moment he surpassed the previous record held by Gündoğan for the most goals by a German player.
Gündoğan scored 45 goals in the Premier League while playing for Manchester City. With this goal, Havertz overtook Gündoğan to become the German player with the most Premier League goals.
Havertz scored 19 league goals while playing for Chelsea from 2020 to 2023. He also has the experience of scoring the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League final while at Chelsea, leading them to the title.
After moving to Arsenal, Havertz added 27 more goals in the Premier League. This season he has scored 3 league goals.
Havertz’s record is also significant in the all-time Premier League scoring rankings for German players.
After Havertz and Gündoğan, Pascal Groß is third with 34 goals. Mesut Özil, who played for Arsenal, has 33 goals, and Jürgen Klinsmann, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, recorded 29 goals. Michael Ballack, who experienced a Premier League title while at Chelsea, left 17 goals.
Florian Wirtz, a German national team teammate who played for the opposing team Liverpool that day, has 5 Premier League goals in total. Wirtz struck the Arsenal goal frame with a free kick in the 39th minute of the first half but failed to score.
This goal carried multiple meanings for Havertz.
According to ESPN, this was the second time Havertz has scored against Liverpool in 12 career matches. It was about five years since he previously scored against Liverpool in August 2021 while playing for Chelsea.
He also ended a long goal drought. Before this match, Havertz had gone nine consecutive official matches for Arsenal without scoring. Together with the nine-game scoreless run he recorded from October to November 2023, it was the longest goal drought since joining Arsenal.
Coincidentally, he also broke his silence then by scoring in an away match at Brentford. Arsenal won that match 1-0. This time, he scored the winning goal again in an away match, earning the team three points.
It was Havertz’s second Premier League winning goal of the season. He has already exceeded his total winning goals from last season.
Havertz’s strike ended Arsenal’s 14-year winless jinx at Liverpool, and he also set an individual record as the German player with the most Premier League goals.
One goal that ended a nine-game scoreless streak led to a historic team victory and a new individual record.
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