Havertz suffered a hamstring injury during Arsenal’s warm weather trip to Dubai, an injury the Gunners simply couldn’t afford.
Arsenal were offered three strikers in January, but the club ultimately chose to hold firm given that none of their main targets were available in an accelerated deal.
Arsenal want Benjamin Sesko or Alexander Isak in the summer, but neither were going to leave their clubs mid-season.
That being said, Havertz has now joined Gabriel Jesus in Arsenal’s treatment room and Arteta has a problem to solve.
Arsenal could turn to defenders to help after Kai Havertz injury
Graeme Bailey – chief correspondent at TBR Football understands that Arsenal are considering the use of a defender to help out in wake of Havertz’s injury.
Beyond Jesus and Havertz, Leandro Trossard seems like the most likely candidate to play as a false nine for Arsenal.
(L-R) Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel and Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal before a training session at NAS Sports Complex on Feb...
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
However, Arteta will think about using a defender in an auxiliary when appropriate until the end of the season.
Defenders like Ben White or Riccardo Calafiori could be an option for example, a situation which is going to be very ad hoc for the Gunners.
Havertz has only been absent for two games since joining Arsenal, missing consecutive games in January owing to illness.
Mikel Arteta only just praised Kai Havertz for his ‘robustness’
Havertz’s injury comes at an incredibly unfortunate time for Arsenal, who are also still without Bukayo Saka as a source of goals.
And when speaking only a week or so ago, Arteta was actually hailing Havertz for his ‘robustness’, a striker who had been responding well to the physical demands of his minutes.
Speaking at his press conference, Arteta said: “He’s played a lot of football but his robustness, his availability is unbelievable.
“You ask him, he feels better when he’s playing every three days, against Girona for example, we give him a rest and then he felt fresher, he had a very demanding game physically against City for the role that he had to do.
“Genetically, he is a powerhouse, he’s so well-built, he’s a player that anything you can ask him, speed running, [running into] zone six, to be very robust, to make long-distance [runs], he’s happy to do.”
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