Kai Havertz has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering an injury in Dubai
Kai Havertz has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering an injury in Dubai
Blog Article
Arsenal lost Kai Havertz back-up Chido Obi-Martin to Manchester United at the start of the season despite agreeing a new deal with their academy sensation.
The Gunners' already decimated forward line has suffered a fresh blow, with striker Havertz suffering a season-ending hamstring injury during one of the club’s warm-weather training sessions in Dubai this week. A ruptured ACL suffered by Gabriel Jesus last month meant the German was Mikel Arteta’s only option in the No. 9 position for the remainder of the season.
The Arsenal hierarchy also failed to buy a much-needed forward in the January transfer window despite Arteta openly admitting as much - a decision they will surely regret as their hopes of closing the gap on Liverpool in the Premier League title race fade.
And to further rub salt in Arteta’s wounds, he had a promising option readily available to use in such circumstances. Teenager Obi-Martin, who left the club in the summer at the end of his contract, signed for rivals United in October despite having taken Arsenal’s Hale End academy by storm.
The Dane, 17, made waves by scoring 10 goals in a single U16s game in November 2023, appearing alongside the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who are now fully-fledged first team players. Obi-Martin’s two-year spell in north London came to an end, however, when he came under the impression that his pathway to the first team was blocked by the likes of Havertz and Jesus - who are now out of action.
According to Sky Sports, he had agreed a new deal with Arsenal but decided to move on before the start of the 2024/25 season due to doubts over his game time under Arteta. The Spaniard, before this season, was accused by sections of the Arsenal fanbase of not placing enough trust in the vast talent coming through the club’s famed academy.
However, he has since shut down those accusations by utilising Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly to great effect. That, along with the latest Gunners injury news, may leave Obi-Martin ruing his rash decision.
The forward, who scored 32 goals in 20 league games for Arsenal’s U18s, arrived in Manchester amid plenty of excitement but is yet to be seen in the senior set-up - the very reason he made the move in the first place.
Chido Obi-Martin left Arsenal for Manchester United last year (
Image:
Getty Images)
Instead, all of Obi-Martin’s appearances in a United shirt so far have been limited to youth team matches, having not been given a chance by Ruben Amorim. His lack of first-team experience at United is made all the more peculiar by the reported wages the teenager is receiving, with The Athletic claiming he’s earning “tens of thousands of pounds” per week.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will hope that talisman Bukayo Saka and winger Gabriel Martinelli will return from their own hamstring injuries as soon as possible. Ahead of the Premier League clash with Leicester City on Saturday, the Gunners have only Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and 17-year-old Nwaneri available in the forward positions.
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