Arsenal have been handed a boost in the race to sign a prolific striker for manager Mikel Arteta, with the player apparently “sold” on joining them as the Gunners enter pole position for his signature.
Arsenal plunged into injury crisis as Havertz misses rest of 24/25
On Thursday, Arsenal officially confirmed that Kai Havertz would miss the rest of this Premier League campaign, following David Ornstein‘s exclusive report which originally broke the bad news (X).
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The German will miss the rest of this season.
Havertz suffered a hamstring injury during Arsenal’s warm-weather training trip to Dubai, which will require surgery. The German is expected to undergo this procedure in the coming days, with Havertz then set to begin rehab which will extend into pre-season for 2025/2026.
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Arsenal’s next five Premier League games |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Leicester City (away) |
February 15th |
|
West Ham (home) |
February 22nd |
|
Nottingham Forest (away) |
February 26th |
|
Man United (away) |
March 9th |
|
Chelsea (home) |
March 16th |
As a result, the £280,000-per-week striker has played his last game of the campaign, leaving Arteta short of attacking options as he bids to catch Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are also on the treatment table right now, with the latter also set to miss the rest of this season (Sky Sports). Right now, Arteta has just Raheem Sterling as his sole senior striking option, and the lack of numbers in Arsenal’s final third could seriously threaten to derail their title chances – if they weren’t slim enough already.
Arsenal will be keen to avoid a similar scenario next campaign, and those around the club will be left disappointed by the fact they didn’t bring in another number nine when the January transfer window was open.
Arsenal had a bid rejected for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, and were linked with more high-profile forwards throughout the window. However, unless the north Londoners opt to sign an emergency free agent like Diego Costa, then they’ll have to wait until this summer to bring in another number nine.
Benjamin Sesko “sold” on joining Arsenal this summer
According to reliable journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on the GiveMeSport Market Madness Podcast, RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko appears to be the main candidate to bolster Arsenal’s forward line.
Other reports have claimed that Arsenal are considered favourites in the race to sign Sesko, with Jacobs providing a further update on the £91,000-per-week striker’s future at Leipzig.
He says that Sesko is “sold” on joining Arsenal after already being convinced by the project, and Arteta’s side are confident they can strike a deal for the Slovenia international who’s scored 15 goals and bagged four assists in all competitions this season.
“Now, Chelsea also like Benjamin Sesko. The good news for Joel is that I think Arsenal are leading that race. So I can foresee a situation where everyone wants Alexander Isak,” Jacobs said.
“He doesn’t leave Newcastle. Arsenal go for Benjamin Sesko. Player’s sold on the project.
“He just wanted to wait and do an extra season at Leipzig. But when he was presented with that choice between Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Sesko picked Arsenal and then made a secondary choice that he was going to stay at Leipzig. So Arsenal are quite confident on Sesko.”
That being said, he won’t come cheap, with German media claiming Leipzig are holding out for £83 million as they anticipate a bidding war.
