Arsenal’s title hopes have been dealt a significant blow with the news that key midfielder Kai Havertz will be out for the rest of the season with a torn hamstring.
The injury occurred during the team’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai, adding to a growing list of absentees for manager Mikel Arteta.
Arteta described the moment Havertz was injured:
“He was going to stop a shot after a set-piece, he stretched the leg and he felt his hamstring. Big pain in the tummy, that’s the first feeling. When you see a player in pain, obviously it’s a really bad feeling.”
He admitted to a sense of déjà vu, but quickly shifted focus to finding solutions. “Then you feel like ‘not again’ and then you realise you have no time to do that. Start to look at alternatives and how the team is going to be able to continue to perform.”
Havertz joins a number of other Arsenal players on the sidelines, including Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli.
This injury crisis has forced Arteta to consider unconventional options. While Leandro Trossard is the likely candidate to fill the gap left by Havertz, Arteta revealed a humorous suggestion from defender William Saliba.
“He said: ‘I’ll play as striker,’ Willy always says. ‘I’ll play.’ Willy is so funny. Straight away it was one of his reactions. It’s true as well that he played there. He used to score a lot of goals. But probably a lot of players played there when they were younger.”
Despite the lighthearted moment, Arteta acknowledged the severity of the situation. He expressed concern about the demanding fixture schedule and its impact on player fitness.
“We have players that have been injured that have played 130 games in the last two seasons. So at the end it’s an accident waiting to happen if you continue to load and load and load,” Arteta stated.
“It’s the season, it’s the accumulation of that, it’s the stress of that, it’s the luck, it’s the preparation, it’s the methodology. There are a lot of factors and very difficult to point out as something but obviously the schedule that is planned is super demanding and for certain players, especially the explosive players, it becomes a real issue.”
The Gunners face a crucial match against Leicester City this weekend and will need to overcome these injury setbacks to maintain their title challenge.
