Kai Havertz and Edouard Mendy leave Chelsea and join Arsenal and Al-Ahli respectively

Kai Havertz and Edouard Mendy have left Chelsea, joining Arsenal and Al-Ahli respectively. 

Havertz has become the Gunners' second-most expensive signing of all time after Nicolas Pepe - moving for £65m - while Mendy's price tag is roughly a quarter of that as he joins former Blues team-mates Kalidou Koulibaly and N'Golo Kante in Saudi Arabia. 

Along with Mateo Kovacic, that takes the number of Chelsea first-teamers who have left Stamford Bridge this summer to six already, with more expected to follow as Mauricio Pochettino and Todd Boehly look to mould a squad fit to challenge for Europe once more. 

Following his Arsenal move, Havertz, who will wear the No 29 shirt, told the club's official website: "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."

Arsenal sporting director Edu said: "We're excited to bring Kai to the club. [It's been] great work by everyone to get this deal complete.

"Kai is an exciting addition to our squad, who will bring great attacking quality and versatility. 

"As an experienced 24-year-old, his signing represents another important step in strengthening our young core of talented players we have at Arsenal. We look forward to working with Kai."

And manager Mikel Arteta added: "Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player.

"He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.

"We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon."

Arteta's remark about Havertz being a midfield asset is intriguing.

Havertz spent a significant portion of his time in a deeper central role before playing in more advanced positions, with the ability to operate as a No 10, No 9, a supporting striker and as someone who drifts around the attacking areas of the pitch, linking up effectively on both the left and the right. 

Such versatility could prove crucial considering how stretched the north Londoners' attacking options looked towards the end of last season, while those qualities, combined with his Champions League experience, could well aid Arteta's men as they look to compete with the continent's elite. 

Havertz's biggest career moment came in the competition when he dinked the ball over Ederson for the winner against Manchester City in the final in Porto two years ago. 

Mendy meanwhile departs for the Middle East after three years in SW6.

The Senegal international had a remarkable impact after joining from Rennes, unseating Kepa Arrizabalaga and demonstrating excellent command of his box and supreme shot-stopping ability to help Chelsea to that second Champions League crown, bagging himself the UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season award, as well as being named The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper. 

However, after consolidating his place in the starting XI during 2021/22, Mendy's form dipped last term and he was displaced by Kepa, making only 10 league appearances in total.