Kai Havertz: Arsenal striker could miss rest of the season with hamstring injury sustained on Dubai trip

Arsenal fear striker Kai Havertz could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.

Havertz injured his hamstring during a training camp in Dubai and it means Arsenal now have no recognised strikers currently fully fit as they bid to close the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The German returned to London with the rest of the squad on Tuesday night and the injury will continue to be assessed on Wednesday and Thursday. Mikel Arteta is expected to provide an update on the injury at his news conference on Friday.

Arsenal have already lost Gabriel Jesus for the rest of the season after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in their FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

The Gunners also have Gabriel Martinelli out for the next month with a hamstring problem sustained in their Carabao Cup semi-final loss to Newcastle.

Arsenal have also been without Bukayo Saka since December 21 with a hamstring issue – though the England winger was part of the Gunners’ training squad in Dubai and could return to action in March.

But, until then, Arsenal will have to navigate being without a recognised centre-forward option – having chosen not to add anyone in that area during the January transfer window.

Arteta revealed the club’s desire to strengthen up front and a late bid for Ollie Watkins was rejected by Aston Villa in the final week of January.

‘It’s a nightmare for Arsenal – season looks nigh-on impossible’

Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith on Sky Sports News:

Everybody was saying you could afford to lose some, but you can’t afford to lose Kai Havertz.

With Gabriel Jesus being out for the rest of the season, I always thought Arsenal needed a centre-forward anyway even if he, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were fit. It’s a bit of a nightmare for the Gunners if he’s going to be out for the rest of the campaign.

It will be a case of mixing and matching now – Leandro Trossard has played as a false nine, he’s done it this season. Raheem Sterling may have to chip in in a way he hasn’t done so far. He’s been a bit disappointing since he’s come in.

But it was going to be hard for Arsenal in this title push, it was an outside chance they could reel in Liverpool – now it looks nigh-on impossible. For this season, you’re wondering – with what they’ve got – how they can make a success of it. The Champions League as well looks really difficult.

You could point to the fact that Manchester City won the Premier League once without a centre-forward, but they had a little bit more in reserve than Arsenal have got now. It’s a key point in the season, maybe a point that just ended hope and optimism.

Analysis: Where on earth do Arsenal go now?

Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

It was the news Arsenal fans dreaded in the wake of their fruitless January transfer window. The week after the closure of a market where the Gunners failed to strengthen their forward line, Arsenal could lose the only striker option they were counting on for the rest of the season.

If Arsenal’s task to close down Liverpool was tough, now it is even tougher. With Arne Slot’s side having Mohamed Salah as the most in-form player in Europe, Cody Gakpo turning up in big moments, plus Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez in the wings – the Gunners are running out of armoury.

Where do Arsenal go now? In terms of adding, the Gunners could enter the free-transfer market to see if there are any short-term options out there. But, in truth, if Arsenal failed to act when the market was open, will they really enter panic mode with the window shut?

The most likely option is dealing with what they have – and those options are slim. Not only do Arsenal have their two first-choice centre-forwards out for the season, they also have just three forward players fit in their squad in Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and on-loan Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling.

All three are contenders to play up front in their next game against Leicester on Saturday. Trossard played as the No 9 in the Champions League win over Girona, while Arteta has branded the No 9 role as a potential full-time position for Nwaneri in the future – though the 17-year-old’s best outings have come out wide.

Sterling is also an option having played the final few minutes of the 5-1 win over Man City in that position, plus he has the history of turning out in a central role with England.

But the real place Arsenal are heading towards is regret. Just how did they end up in this scenario? Their January activity will come under scrutiny but it can also go further back to the sales of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe plus the loan exits of Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson.

All four would be needed in this Arsenal team now. All the above reasons left their first-choice front three with too much to do. All three are now injured.

Arsenal’s injuries in numbers

Arsenal are not the only team to have suffered injury problems this season. In fact, they are in the middle of the Premier League table for injuries at the moment.

They will not get much sympathy from north London rivals Tottenham about their current plight.

But it is the severity of the injuries that sets Arsenal apart from most. Their players have missed nearly 650 days due to injury – and counting – which is well above the Premier League average and is the fifth-highest among the top-flight clubs.

It is also the type of players Arsenal are missing, with the majority of the Gunners’ injured players attacking options. Saka, Havertz and Martinelli are all out for a while – this is arguably their first-choice front three.

And there are some tricky games on the horizon for Arsenal. They will be hoping to get wins against Leicester and West Ham later this month – but matches with Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Chelsea are looming.