The German picked up a knock in the 1-0 win over Newcastle last weekend and did not feature against the Spanish giants on Wednesday evening.
While Arteta remains encouraged by Havertz's fitness ahead of the European clash against Diego Simeone's side, the Arsenal boss revealed that neither he nor Jurrien Timber would be fit for the Gunners’ Premier League match against Fulham on Saturday, whilst club captain Martin Ødegaard is a doubt.
“Let’s see,” said Arteta on the Norwegian’s fitness. “Let’s see how everyone is tomorrow morning. Obviously, we haven’t been able to train much, so tomorrow we will have a final update.”
Havertz’ fitness has blighted Arteta’s hope to build an attacking unit around the German all season long, and the Arsenal boss revealed how much he values Havertz in the current guise of his team.
“He’s been a huge miss,” said Arteta. “We’re talking about one of the most important attacking players that we have. He’s been out for seven or eight months. He’s not been the only one, unfortunately, with long-term injuries, but the team has shown an incredible capacity to overcome these kinds of scenarios and still be very, very competitive.”
Havertz will have two years remaining on his Arsenal contract when the summer arrives, although Arteta was typically coy about the German’s future.
“Now the focus has to be on availability and performance,” added the Arsenal manager. “Kai is desperate to be on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Arsenal host Fulham at Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon (5:30pm kick-off) as the Premier League leaders look to extend their lead over Manchester City to six points, having played two games more.
Pep Guardiola’s team travel to Merseyside on Monday night to face Everton before Arsenal switch their focus to overcoming Atletico Madrid in the second leg in north London on Tuesday evening.