Mikel Arteta led Arsenal training on Friday afternoon with Kai Havertz prominently featured, but one key player noticeably absent
08:24, 31 Jan 2026
Kai Havertz was in Arsenal training ahead of the Premier League clash against Leeds United
View 2 Images
Kai Havertz was in Arsenal training ahead of the Premier League clash against Leeds United(Image: (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images))
Arsenal have completed their final preparations on the training pitch for the Premier League clash against Leeds United. The majority of Mikel Arteta's favoured starting XI will have likely had two full sessions at London Colney over the last few days with a rotated team deployed for the Champions League win over Kairat on Wednesday.
Kai Havertz was involved in that clash and it was his first start in nearly one year due to two different injuries. He scored and grabbed an assist in his 45 minutes on the pitch, with Arteta handed a major boost over his recovery.
With the Germany international back available, injury problems have significantly lessened for Arteta. Jurrien Timber and William Saliba have overcome knocks, but fitness concerns in defence still look to be prominent with a key player not spotted in training.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!** Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page**
With all of that being said, football.london has highlighted all the important moments spotted from Arsenal training on Friday.
Havertz boost confirmed
Following his last sustained appearance, Havertz was absent for the following few games. But that does not look set to happen this time, with the 26-year-old spotted in full training.
That confirmed Arteta's positive update from his press conference ahead of the trip to Elland Road. He said: "Yeah, he's ready, obviously he started the day, obviously it's been a long period and now we need to manage that load and the games that we're going to select for him to start, but there was no reaction to that.
"I think it was super positive, you could see straight away the impact that he can have in the team, so yeah, he's ready."
An action shot of Havertz and one of him catching his breath have been uploaded to Arsenal's official website, with it certainly clear he is working hard to return to full fitness.
Key defender worry
Though Arteta confirmed that no fresh injury issues were suffered on Wednesday evening, Cristhian Mosquera was noticeably absent from the training pictures.
The Spaniard played the entirety of the win over Kairat, but was not captured in any of Friday's photos, either on the grass or in the gym. Riccardo Calafiori was only in the latter but still present after returning from an injury of his own.
Cristhian Mosquera of Arsenal looks on
View 2 Images
Cristhian Mosquera was not in any of Arsenal's 36 training photos uploaded on Friday(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mosquera spent six weeks out of action before returning at the San Siro. Having played the full 90 minutes, it is possible he is following a different recovery programme with his load being managed and thus may still be in the squad to face Leeds.
Starting XI hints
There was a somewhat noticeable theme in Arsenal training with several players - all of whom are expected to start - not wearing bibs in what looked to be a small-sided game.
Captain Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice all appeared to be on one team with that expected to be the spine of Arteta's starting XI on Saturday afternoon.
Article continues below
Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka and David Raya are also expected to be included, but the other positions are up for grabs. Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres are competing for the striker spot but it could be Havertz that gets the nod as he was captured in that training game without a bib on.