Kai Havertz sidelined indefinitely, Arteta puts his faith in Viktor Gyokeres

Arsenal’s main forward Kai Havertz suffered an injury in the opening match of the season against Man United. Since then, the German forward has undergone surgery to address the issue but remains unable to return anytime soon. Earlier this month, the manager said Havertz could be back in a matter of weeks, possibly by the end of 2025.

However, Havertz’s situation has worsened after he picked up another injury during his recovery. As a result, he is now expected to return in mid-January 2026, potentially for the league match against Liverpool on 8 January or the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth three days later.

In Havertz’s absence, Arteta has placed his faith in Viktor Gyokeres, with Gabriel Jesus also recently returning from injury. Since joining Arsenal in the summer, the Swedish forward has scored six goals in 19 appearances but has yet to reach the level he showed at Sporting Lisbon.

Speaking recently, Mikel Arteta said about his new forward: “There was a lot of excitement because we were bringing in a proven scorer who had probably the best stats in Europe. He is a player coming to a different league, the most demanding league in the world, and what happens if he doesn’t score for five or six games?

“That was my only question to him: ‘How are you going to react if you don’t score in five or six games? Can you cope with that? And then what’s going to happen in the next 100 games?’ That’s what you have to see. The sample is very small. So leave him alone, let him do what he does best, be behind him and I’m sure things will turn out the right way.”

Gyokeres now faces competition as Gabriel Jesus has returned after nearly a year out injured. The Brazilian impressed against Club Brugge and has made it clear he wants to stay at Arsenal. With this renewed competition, Gyokeres will need to raise his level if he wants to avoid being left on the bench in the coming matches, especially with World Cup qualifiers coming up in March next year.