Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has been named as Germany’s vice-captain by manager Julian Nagelsmann ahead of the September internationals.

Arsenal’s Kai Havertz was one of 13 Gunners called up by their countries for the September international break, with Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann selecting the 25-year-old again this month.

As well as selecting his squad, Nagelsmann also had a decision to make on the position of his team captain.

Former captain Ilkay Gundogan retired from international duty last month, and experienced goalkeeper Manuel Neuer also called it quits.

Nagelsmann selected Joshua Kimmich for the position of captain, calling the Bayern Munich midfielder the “logical successor” for the role. But he selected Havertz and Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger as his vice-captains.

The manager was singing Havertz’s praises over the summer at Euro 2024, even when some were calling for him to start Niclas Fullkrug.

“If you look at it from the outside, a demand for Fülle (Niclas Fullkrug) is understandable, even though Kai (Havertz) comes off much worse in the public assessment,” Nagelsmann said.

“[Havertz] has a clear job in many games, which means that he doesn’t have many ball actions because he should create space for others. He did that exceptionally well.

“In the internal assessment, Kai is ranked much higher than in the public.

“For the striker, it’s not always just about scoring a goal. If you’re substituted and the opponent is already tired, you might have a little more space. Fülle has a good rating, but Kai is an important player for us.”

Havertz has 33 goal contributions in 51 games for Germany, including three in his five appearances at the Euros this summer, and two in two games at the World Cup in 2022.

Despite only being 25, he’s one of the more experienced players in the squad, and that’s now reflected in his role as vice-captain.