Mikel Arteta will be desperate to get one star back to fitness as a top priority. Arsenal suffered their first major setback of the season as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime.
Matty Cash gave Villa the lead, before Leandro Trossard leveled the game early in the second half. While both sides had opportunities to win the game, it was Emi Buendia who got the winner for the hosts in the fifth minute of injury time to condemn the Gunners to their first defeat of the season.
While several players were missing, one star's absence was felt more than anybody else's.
Arteta Needs Kai Havertz Back
Arsenal's Kai Havertz
Arsenal are struggling with a number of high-profile injuries at the moment. William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera are all sidelined at the moment. Of course this is having a big impact on the Gunners' back line, but thankfully for Arteta, they have a number of quality options who can deputise for the time being.
In attack, it's a very different situation though. Kai Havertz hasn't played for Arsenal since the opening game of the season against Manchester United. In his absence, Mikel Merino has done very well as an emergency striker. Meanwhile Viktor Gyokeres hasn't scored in the Premier League since mid-September.
Described as 'exceptional' by his manager, Havertz is closing in on a return, but Arteta needs him back sooner rather than later.
Arsenal's Lack Of A Proven Striker Could Be Troublesome
Viktor Gyokeres
While Arsenal have been almost flawless so far this season, the lack of a potent goalscoring threat at no.9 is still causing problems. Merino has been one of the most underrated players in that role this term, but given that it's not his natural position, he's not a long-term solution.
Gyokeres has done okay since arriving from Sporting, but having only scored against Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Burnley in the Premier League, there are still question marks over how good he will be for Arsenal.
Havertz certainly isn't perfect, but the German star is probably Arteta's best bet in attack right now, it's just a shame that he hasn't been fit to feature.
If Arsenal are serious about going all the way in the title race they will need to ensure that they have plenty of attacking options to get them over the line. They lacked a cutting edge against Aston Villa on Saturday and so Arteta will be praying to get Havertz up to speed as quickly as possible so that he can contribute to what could be a historic campaign for the club.
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