Arsenal suffer another huge injury blow as Havertz is ruled out for the season | OneFootball

Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has been ruled out until the end of the season after suffering a torn hamstring in another huge blow for Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners are already without fellow forwards Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus through injury.

It means boss Arteta is left with just three recognised attacking players to choose from following Havertz’s injury – Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.

Havertz sustained the injury while on Arsenal’s warm weather training camp in Dubai.

Saka is not expected to be fit until March, Jesus is out for the remainder of the season after suffering an ACL injury in the FA Cup game against Manchester United, while Martinelli is set to miss more than a month with a hamstring problem.

Havertz has played 34 times in all competitions for Arsenal this season, scoring 15 goals.

His injury also leaves Arteta without a central striker, with the three available forwards all used primarily as wide players.

Arsenal tried to sign another forward in January but were unsuccessful in their attempts.

They saw a bid rejected for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins.

The Gunners travelled to Dubai during their ten-day break without a game, and return to action on Saturday when they travel to struggling Leicester City.

How can Arteta cope with Havertz’s absence?

Arteta already had a significant dilemma but now he has an even bigger one.

Trossard looks the most likely candidate to fill in at centre-forward having played there before, with Nwaneri and Sterling in either of the wide positions.

Sterling has also played up front before, and will need to get up to speed quickly given the increased responsibility that has now been placed on his shoulders.

Arteta is going to need other members of his squad to play out of position in order to get through this period too.

Myles Lewis-Skelly looks an obvious option to play one of the wide positions when needed given his physical attributes and Arsenal’s depth in the left-back spot, where he has been playing.

Arteta could also look to the Arsenal academy to help, especially given the impressive impact Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri have had so far.