The Germany international has been sidelined since August with a knee injury
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Kai Havertz could be set for a return in the FA Cup
Kai Havertz could be set for a return in the FA Cup (Getty)
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Kai Havertz could make his Arsenal comeback against Portsmouth as Mikel Arteta hopes his next trip to Fratton Park will be more enjoyable than the last.
The Germany international has only made one appearance this season and has been out since August with a knee injury but Arteta is optimistic that he can feature in Sunday's FA Cup tie.
“If everything goes well, I think so,” he said. “I think he’s going to be in the squad again in the next few days. He trains well, he’s increased his load, he’s coping with that really well. And it will be great if we can have him.”
Havertz scored 15 goals for Arsenal last season but since then Arteta has more options in attack after the signing of Viktor Gyokeres and he said the former Chelsea player knows he will have to excel on his return.
He added: “When a player has the chance to put our shirt on and compete for us, you know that the demands are excellence - and that’s it. Kai is aware of that.”
It will be Arsenal’s first visit to Fratton Park since March 2020, when victory helped them on their way to win the FA Cup, but when Arteta may have contracted Covid.
Arsenal won 2-0 with goals by Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah but Arteta was feeling too ill to celebrate.
He explained: “I don't know what it was, but I wasn’t feeling great. The moment that we scored the goal I was desperate to go home because I was shaking and not feeling great.”
Arteta will probably make changes, with Arsenal competing on four fronts, as he is determined to use his squad in the next block of games.
He added: “We have to manage [it], because [of] what is coming again in the next few weeks. I think we have four away games in different competitions, and we have to make sure that everybody is participating, we continue to perform and win games. And we’re going to have to manage that one.”