Jürgen Klopp’s first match in charge of Germany was supposed to be about him. By the time Cody Gakpo forced a stoppage time equaliser to make it 1-1 against the Netherlands on Thursday night, the story had already moved on to Emirates Stadium, back across the North Sea.
Kai Havertz went down clutching the back of his leg in the 32nd minute after a heavy challenge from Quinten Timber, and the picture that followed, Germany’s number nine being helped from the pitch with his shirt pulled up over his face, will have made grim viewing for Mikel Arteta. Klopp confirmed after the game that Havertz was “probably out” and would need an MRI scan, alongside Jamal Musiala, who had already withdrawn from the squad before kick off with what Germany’s medical staff described as a normal football injury. Neither is expected to feature again in this international window, with Germany still to play Greece twice and Serbia.
For Arsenal, the timing could hardly be worse. Havertz has been central to Arteta’s plans since his return to something like his best form, and the club now has to work out how much of the coming weeks he will miss. Klopp’s own hope, that the pair would be “back in action relatively quickly”, offers some reassurance, but hamstring injuries picked up on international duty have a habit of running longer than first feared, and nobody at Arsenal will want to rush him back into a title defence that has barely begun.
A Long List Already Growing
Havertz’s injury lands on top of a squad list that was already causing Arteta plenty of sleepless nights during this international break. Declan Rice withdrew from the England squad last week having played 69 matches across club and country in 2025-26, and Harry Kane, speaking about his England team mate, said simply that he knew Rice had “been struggling for a while with his issues.” Rice has been carrying nerve pain through his back and hamstring since needing a painkilling injection in December, and the extra rest during this break was seen as valuable recovery time rather than a worrying sign in itself. Jurrien Timber was left out of the Netherlands squad altogether, William Saliba remains some way from a return, and Cristhian Mosquera has been working through his own recovery in Spain. None of that is disastrous on its own. Taken together, with Havertz now added to the list, it starts to look like exactly the kind of squad depth test that champions eventually have to pass.
Arsenal’s next Premier League fixture is at home to Leeds United on 10 October, which at least gives the club a fortnight to assess Havertz properly rather than rushing a decision this weekend. Arteta has shown before that he would rather be cautious with a hamstring than lose a player for six weeks by playing him a week too soon, and there is no reason to expect anything different here.
Klopp’s Messy, Honest Beginning
The match itself, away from the Arsenal angle, was everything an international coaching debut rarely is: open, feisty and short of the control both new managers presumably wanted. Felix Nmecha put Germany ahead midway through the first half, in a passage of play that left Dutch players furious after Germany continued attacking while Brian Brobbey lay injured. Xavi’s side responded by taking the game to Germany for long spells, finishing with 21 attempts on goal to Germany’s ten, and were rewarded deep into stoppage time when substitute Ruben van Bommel picked out Gakpo with a delightful cross for the equaliser.
Klopp was refreshingly honest about what he had seen. “There’s a long list of things that went well,” he said, before adding that his side “can play better and play more football” and that Germany had made the afternoon “demanding for both teams” by giving away needless possession. It was hardly the perfect start any new manager dreams of, but Klopp has never pretended his teams arrive the finished article, and a draw away from home, against a Netherlands side playing with real purpose under their own new coach, is not a result to panic about.
Xavi, for his part, had every right to be pleased. “I’m satisfied because we played so well,” he said. “We were better than Germany today. We deserve a bit more, especially in the second half.” It was a promising opening statement from a coach who took the Netherlands job after their own disappointing World Cup, replacing Ronald Koeman, and who left out Memphis Depay entirely as he begins shaping the squad his own way.
Virgil van Dijk and the Old Friendship
There was a warmth to proceedings before kick off that the result could not disguise. Van Dijk and Gakpo, both key figures at Liverpool, were pictured sharing a laugh with Klopp on the touchline, a reminder of just how many old relationships this fixture was always going to stir up. Van Dijk had spoken before the game about wanting to win, but there was little sign of any grudge in how the night played out. Football moves on quickly, and Thursday’s draw will matter far less in a month’s time than what Arsenal now do without one of their most important forwards.
For Arteta, the international break was meant to be a chance to regroup. Instead, he returns to club football with more questions than he had a fortnight ago, and a Havertz scan result that the whole of the Arsenal support will be waiting on.
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