Arsenal lost Kai Havertz replacement option at last minute after 'agreeing contract'

Mikel Arteta is facing a situation up-front with Kai Havertz's latest wounded quality adding to Arsenal's woes - but the Gunners' problems person been compounded by respective mediocre decisions

Arsenal mislaid Kai Havertz back-up Chido Obi-Martin to Manchester United astatine the commencement of the play contempt agreeing a caller woody with their academy sensation.

The Gunners' already decimated guardant enactment has suffered a caller blow, with striker Havertz suffering a season-ending hamstring injury during 1 of the club’s warm-weather grooming sessions successful Dubai this week. A ruptured ACL suffered by Gabriel Jesus past period meant the German was Mikel Arteta’s lone enactment successful the No. 9 presumption for the remainder of the season.

The Arsenal hierarchy besides failed to bargain a much-needed guardant successful the January transportation model contempt Arteta openly admitting arsenic much - a determination they volition surely regret arsenic their hopes of closing the spread connected Liverpool successful the Premier League rubric contention fade.

And to further hitch brackish successful Arteta’s wounds, helium had a promising enactment readily disposable to usage successful specified circumstances. Teenager Obi-Martin, who near the nine successful the summertime astatine the extremity of his contract, signed for rivals United successful October contempt having taken Arsenal’s Hale End academy by storm.

The Dane, 17, made waves by scoring 10 goals successful a azygous U16s crippled successful November 2023, appearing alongside the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who are present fully-fledged archetypal squad players. Obi-Martin’s two-year spell successful northbound London came to an end, however, erstwhile helium came nether the content that his pathway to the archetypal squad was blocked by the likes of Havertz and Jesus - who are present retired of action.

According to Sky Sports, helium had agreed a caller woody with Arsenal but decided to determination connected earlier the commencement of the 2024/25 play owed to doubts implicit his crippled clip nether Arteta. The Spaniard, earlier this season, was accused by sections of the Arsenal fanbase of not placing capable spot successful the immense endowment coming done the club’s famed academy.

However, helium has since unopen down those accusations by utilising Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly to large effect. That, on with the latest Gunners wounded news, whitethorn permission Obi-Martin ruing his rash decision.

The forward, who scored 32 goals successful 20 league games for Arsenal’s U18s, arrived successful Manchester amid plentifulness of excitement but is yet to beryllium seen successful the elder set-up - the precise crushed helium made the determination successful the archetypal place.

Instead, each of Obi-Martin’s appearances successful a United garment truthful acold person been constricted to younker squad matches, having not been fixed a accidental by Ruben Amorim. His deficiency of first-team acquisition astatine United is made each the much peculiar by the reported wages the teen is receiving, with The Athletic claiming he’s earning “tens of thousands of pounds” per week.

Meanwhile, Arsenal volition anticipation that talisman Bukayo Saka and winger Gabriel Martinelli volition instrumentality from their ain hamstring injuries arsenic soon arsenic possible. Ahead of the Premier League clash with Leicester City connected Saturday, the Gunners person lone Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and 17-year-old Nwaneri disposable successful the guardant positions.

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