The Gunners jetted off to Dubai to take part in a midseason training camp, a repeat of what they did last term, but returned following a huge blow. Havertz picked up a hamstring injury which will now rule him out for the remainder of the season as he requires surgery.
The German has been Arsenal's central point in attack but he will now add to a concerning injury list. Back in January Gabriel Jesus was ruled out for the campaign after picking up an ACL injury whilst Bukayo Saka's time on the sidelines has been further extended.
It means Arsenal, who are desperately trying to chase down Liverpool in the Premier League title race, are seriously lacking depth in attack.
Arteta said: "We were having a great camp in Dubai, recharging, training. Reconnecting with nature then the injury happened in a very unexpected way. It's a big blow because of the injuries we have. Fortunately we have dealt with many injuries this season."
Ethan Nwaneri has enjoyed a breakout campaign and has been tipped to eventually morph into a striker, but the Arsenal boss has all but ruled out that as a possibility for now.
Havertz's injury, coupled with the players who were already absent at the Emirates, further shines a light on the club's failure to sign a prolific striker in recent transfer windows. They opted against bringing one in back in the summer and then made moves to rectify that in January.
Kai Havertz in action for Arsenal
Kai Havertz is the latest Arsenal star to suffer an injury blow
A hefty bid for Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins was rejected and several of their other targets, the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak, were never going to move midseason and will be targets in the summer.
Arsenal recently saw their Carabao Cup hopes end as Newcastle downed them in the semi-finals, which places more onus on the league and the Champions League. Arteta is under pressure to end the club's trophy drought, which currently stands at five years.
This weekend they will take on Leicester City with the north Londoners only having Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, and Raheem Sterling available as attacking options.
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