It was a cruel irony that would surely not have escaped Mikel Arteta. Confirmation that Kai Havertz is expected to miss the rest of the season came 24 hours after Arsenal’s players returned from a warm-weather training camp in Dubai, with scans revealing the Germany striker had a torn hamstring.
Having flown to the United Arab Emirates last week in an attempt to refresh his weary squad, Arteta has lost a third senior attacker to the same injury, Havertz joining Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli – who could be out for a month after limping out of the defeat by Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final – on the sidelines. Gabriel Jesus is out until next season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
