Arsenal rocked by Kai Havertz injury blow as Mikel Arteta desperately hunts for transfer replacement

KAI HAVERTZ is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury.

Arsenal are now scouring the transfer market for an attacker to strengthen their forward options in the German’s absence, according to reports from The Athletic.

Shutterstock EditorialKai Havertz has been ruled out for the immediate future with a knee injury[/caption]

GettyThe blow means Arsenal are now set to return to the transfer market to seek out a new backup option[/caption]

Havertz failed to make an appearance at an open training session on Wednesday morning.

Medical staff at the club are assessing the injury, but do not have a timeline as yet for the 26-year-old’s recovery.

The Gunners deployed Havertz as a substitute for summer signing Viktor Gyokeres in their season-opening victory over Man Utd at the weekend.

Mikel Arteta had made the same substitution ahead of Havertz’s goal in Arsenal’s Emirates Cup fixture a week earlier against Athletic Bilbao.

His prominence towards the end of both fixtures suggested the former Chelsea star was set to be a key part of Arteta’s approach in the later stages of games this season.

Arsenal’s other natural striker, Gabriel Jesus, remains out following an ACL injury the Brazilian picked up at the start of the year.

Havertz also missed almost half of last season with a hamstring injury.

The North Londoners’ poor fortune with their attackers’ fitness forced them into using makeshift strikers last season.

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Midfield signing Mikel Merino notably had a successful spell as a forward at the beginning of the year, while Leandro Trossard has also been deployed there in a pinch.

Gyokeres’ signing was intended to provide last season’s runners-up with sufficient depth up-front, but now the pressure is on the Swede to stay fit as he adapts to the Premier League.

Many of the window’s most prominent striker targets have already been snapped up this summer, such as Liverpool‘s Hugo Ekitike and Man Utd’s Benjamin Sesko.

Some options that potentially remain on the market include Chelsea‘s Nicolas Jackson and Brentford‘s Yoane Wissa.

However, it remains unclear how much the club are willing to spend on what may prove to be a stopgap depth option.

Arsenal are set to continue their season without Havertz as they face newly-promoted Leeds United on Saturday.

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