Former Chelsea striker Joe Cole has criticised his former club for allowing Kai Havertz to join Arsenal, describing the German forward as a “world-class” player and questioning Chelsea’s decision to sell him to a direct Premier League rival.
Cole’s comments came after Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday, with Havertz playing a central role in the result by scoring the equaliser that helped the Gunners preserve their perfect start to the new Premier League season.
Chelsea initially took control of the match when summer signing Morgan Rogers put the visitors ahead after just two minutes. Arsenal responded through Havertz, who levelled the contest midway through the first half.
Martin Odegaard then completed Arsenal’s comeback shortly after half-time, with the Arsenal captain’s goal ultimately separating the two teams as Chelsea failed to find another equaliser.
The result left Arsenal and Manchester City as the only teams with maximum points from their first three league matches, with both clubs collecting nine points. Chelsea, meanwhile, remained on six points in fourth position.
For Cole, the match provided another reminder of the consequences of Chelsea’s decision to allow Havertz to leave Stamford Bridge for Arsenal.
Havertz’s transformation at Arsenal
Havertz arrived at Arsenal in 2023 for a reported £65 million after an inconsistent three-year spell at Chelsea had raised questions about whether he could fulfil his potential at the highest level.
His time at Stamford Bridge had been marked by periods of criticism and uncertainty over his best position. Arsenal nevertheless backed the German forward and gradually established him as an important part of Mikel Arteta’s attacking structure.
Havertz has since developed into Arsenal’s first-choice striker, according to the supplied report, moving ahead of Viktor Gyokeres, who joined the club for £64 million.
His equaliser against Chelsea further highlighted the contrast between his current status at Arsenal and the doubts that surrounded him during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Cole argued that Chelsea should have been better placed to judge Havertz’s potential because the club had the opportunity to watch him develop on a daily basis.
“I believe that if you have Kai Havertz at your club, you are observing him daily, week after week,” Cole told Premier League Productions.
The former England international questioned how Chelsea’s recruitment and football leadership could allow a player with Havertz’s qualities to move to another major Premier League club and subsequently establish himself as a top-level performer.
Cole questions Chelsea’s recruitment decisions
Cole’s criticism extended beyond Havertz himself and focused on Chelsea’s wider approach to squad building and the management of attacking players.
He pointed to the significant sums Chelsea have spent on centre-forwards since Havertz left the club, suggesting that the money invested in finding alternatives makes his departure even more difficult to understand.
“Coaches and managers may come and go, but the Directors of Football? Consider the substantial amount of money the club has invested in centre-forwards since he departed,” Cole said.
Chelsea have undergone considerable changes in their squad and football structure, but Cole argued that decisions involving players should be judged against their subsequent development, particularly when those players establish themselves at rival clubs.
He described the sale of Havertz as “unacceptable” and placed it alongside another high-profile Chelsea departure that he believes ultimately came back to haunt the club.
“This situation is simply unacceptable; it must come to an end. It happened with Kevin De Bruyne; it happened with Kai Havertz,” Cole said.
De Bruyne comparison
Cole also brought up Kevin De Bruyne as an example of Chelsea allowing a player to leave before he reached his peak.
De Bruyne eventually became one of the Premier League’s most influential midfielders after moving away from Stamford Bridge, while Havertz has now become an important attacking player for Arsenal.
For Cole, both cases represent a failure to retain players who subsequently developed into elite performers elsewhere.
He contrasted Chelsea’s approach with the long-term squad management associated with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
“Such transactions never took place at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, nor with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal,” Cole said.
The point, he argued, was not simply that players sometimes leave clubs and improve elsewhere, but that Chelsea had allowed players with significant potential to move directly to Premier League rivals.
Arsenal benefiting from Havertz decision
Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea provided another example of how Havertz’s development has changed the perception of his transfer.
When Arsenal paid £65 million for the German in 2023, the deal attracted questions because of his inconsistent performances during his three seasons at Chelsea.
Since then, however, Havertz has established himself as Arsenal’s leading striker and has become an important component of Arteta’s team.
His equaliser on Sunday was particularly significant because it came against the club that sold him, helping Arsenal recover from Rogers’ early goal before Odegaard completed the comeback.
The result maintained Arsenal’s flawless opening to the league campaign and left Chelsea reflecting on a defeat in which a former player directly contributed to their opponents’ comeback.
Chelsea’s costly striker decisions under scrutiny
Cole’s comments also raise questions about Chelsea’s recruitment strategy in the centre-forward position. His argument is that the club’s subsequent spending on attacking players makes the decision to part with Havertz increasingly difficult to justify.
The former Chelsea striker believes clubs should be particularly careful when selling talented players to domestic rivals because they could eventually face those players in decisive league matches.
His criticism reflects the broader football reality that a player’s development does not necessarily stop when he leaves a club. Havertz’s trajectory at Arsenal demonstrates how a change of environment, tactical role and managerial approach can alter perceptions of a player.
For Chelsea, Sunday’s defeat provided a painful example of that possibility. Havertz, once questioned during his time at Stamford Bridge, scored against his former club as Arsenal came from behind to secure another three points.
Cole’s central argument is therefore that Chelsea must improve the way it evaluates and retains promising players, particularly when those players can later become key performers for Premier League rivals.
For now, Havertz’s Arsenal career continues to strengthen, while Cole believes Chelsea’s decision to sell him should serve as another warning after the earlier departure of De Bruyne.
EPL: Joe Cole Calls Chelsea’s Sale of Kai Havertz to Arsenal ‘Unacceptable’
