Premier League side, Arsenal, have completed the signing of German forward, Kai Havertz, from fellow London rival club Chelsea on a permanent deal, Peoples Gazette can confirm.

“Germany international Kai Havertz has joined us from Chelsea on a long-term contract,” the club said in a statement. “The 24-year-old has been a key player at both club and international level in recent seasons already.”

The Gunners paid £65 million to acquire the services of the former Bayer Leverkusen’s academy star and subsequently signed a five-year deal that will keep him at the Emirates until 2028.

The 24-year-joined Chelsea in the summer of 2020 and went ahead to make 139 appearances for the Blues, scoring 32 goals, including two important goals apiece in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final and the FIFA Club World Cup final in the same year.

Speaking to the club’s website after completing the switch from West to North London, Havertz said: “It’s super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family. This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things.

“The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.

“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club. I’m now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”

In the other news, Arsenal have agreed a Premier League record fee with West Ham United for the potential signing of Declan Rice. Both clubs have agreed on a £100 million upfront fee and £5 million for the England international to join the Gunners.

“West Ham have just communicated to Arsenal that they’re accepting £100m plus £5m add-ons fee for Declan Rice.

The two clubs remain in talks over deal structure and payment terms – as West Ham want £100m to be paid within 18 months,” tweeted football journalist, Fabrizio Romano.