Premier League 2025-26: Returning Havertz will boost Arsenal’s failing attack, says Mikel Arteta

Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, who has been absent since August with a knee injury, is close to playing after returning to training this week, manager Mikel Arteta said.

The Premier League leader, who hosts Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, posted a video of the German striker in training on Tuesday.

Havertz’s return is welcome news for Arteta at a time when Arsenal have failed to score a goal without penalties in their last three games.

Arsenal’s main striker Viktor Gyokeres has scored just once from the spot since returning from a muscle injury last month.

«I think it will be a matter of days, if not weeks. Let’s see in the next step how (Havertz) responds to that. He is a player we have missed a lot, a player who brings the team into another dimension. So I am very happy to have him back very soon,» Arteta told reporters.

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Central defender Gabriel Magalhaes, out since last month with a hamstring injury, has not yet returned to training, the manager said. Fellow centre-back Cristhian Mosquera and right-back Ben White are also out with injuries.

Arteta’s men, who have finished second in the Premier League three times in a row, lost at Aston Villa earlier this month before recording two sloppy wins over Wolverhampton ⁠Wanderers and Everton to remain two points clear of Manchester City.

Arsenal will play Villa again on December 30.

“Well, we obviously have to prepare for what’s coming… and enjoy the fun and the opportunity we have to play at this level, in this country, with the history we have here,” Arteta said.

Published on December 26, 2025