Arteta relishing challenge despite Arsenal striker crisis

LONDON: Mikel Arteta said Friday he is “looking forward” to the challenge of coping without Kai Havertz as he grapples with a deepening striker crisis at title-chasing Arsenal.

The Germany forward, 25, will miss the rest of the season after being told he needs surgery to repair a hamstring injury that he suffered during a training camp in Dubai. The second-placed Gunners, who are seven points behind Liverpool with 14 games remaining, are now down to the bare bones in forward areas.

Gabriel Jesus is out for the season and Bukayo Saka has been absent since December, while Gabriel Martinelli also faces a spell on the sidelines. It leaves the Gunners with only Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri as recognised forward players ahead of Saturday´s match against struggling Leicester.

“We were having a great camp in Dubai, recharging, training, having some time off, and connecting again with nature and a different environment, and then the injury (to Havertz) happened in a very unexpected way,” Arsenal manager Arteta told reporters on Friday. “It´s a big blow, obviously, because of the injuries that we have.”

The Spaniard said despite the lengthy injury list he was relishing the challenge as he chases Arsenal´s first Premier League title since 2004. “Love it and look forward, because we are still where we are... so let´s see what the team is made of,” he added.

Arteta said injuries were inevitable given the huge demands on footballers. “It´s an accident waiting to happen, you know, if you continue to load and load and load,” he added. “It´s the season, it´s the accumulation of that, it´s the stress of that, it´s the luck, it´s the preparation, it´s the methodology. There are a lot of factors and very difficult to point out as something, but obviously the schedule that is planned is super-demanding.”