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.
Gabriel Martinelli limped off injured in last week’s loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-finals
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 in that area and a late bid for Ollie Watkins was rejected by Aston Villa in the final week of January.
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.
Gabriel Jesus suffered a season-ending knee injury in the FA Cup loss to Manchester United in January
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 role 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 exit of Fabio Vieira.
All three 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 aren’t the only team to have suffered injury problems this season. In fact, they are in the middle of the Premier League table for current 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 averages and is the fifth-highest amongst the top-flight clubs.
It is also the type of players Arsenal are missing, with the majority of the Gunners’ injured players attacking options. Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel 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 on the horizon.
