Mikel Arteta challenges Arsenal players after injury setbacks | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has challenged his players to show him what they are made of while the club is embroiled in an injury crisis.

Kai Havertz was the latest wounded forward to squeeze into the club's squashed medical facility. Bukayo Saka has been recovering from a hamstring injury of his own since December while Gabriel Martinelli is sidelined with a muscular issue until March. Gabriel Jesus is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear.

Speaking for the first time since the club confirmed that Havertz would also miss the campaign's conclusion, Arteta told assembled media: "Certainly it is a big blow because of the injuries that we have but fortunately, we've been through a lot this season.

"We have played without Gabriel, without [William] Saliba, Ben White all season, [Takehiro] Tomiyasu all season, [Riccardo] Calafiori for two months, [Mikel] Merino for two months, Martin Odegaard for two months, Bukayo Saka for three months, Gabriel Jesus… all of them.

Bukayo Saka (left) and Kai Havertz are Arsenal's two top scorers this season / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

"So that's it, that's the challenge ahead. I love it and look forward because we are still where we are with all the things I mentioned on top of playing four times with ten men, blah blah blah. Let's see what the team is made of."

Arteta confirmed that Saka is still in "an early stage of the rehab" after reports emerged that the talismanic forward would be sidelined for another two months. However, right-back Ben White will be back for the trip to Leicester City on Saturday.

"If any team in this league lost four players in the frontline like those, I know what the answer would be - I don't even want to mention that," Arteta pointedly noted.

Yet, the Spaniard largely struck a tone of chirpy defiance as Arsenal approach the final 14 league games of the season trailing Liverpool by seven points. "We've been through a lot and we have sustained the level of performance and results until this point," Arteta beamed, "so we are more than capable of doing it."