Arsenal dealt blow as star man set to undergo surgery for knee issue: Reports

Arsenal star Kai Havertz is reportedly set to undergo surgery to fix his knee issue. The German has been out since last week, and the Gunners were waiting for further test results before taking a call.

According to a report in The Athletic, Havertz is not expected to be sidelined for an extended period after the surgery. He has been dealing with an issue and also missed the pre-season loss against Villarreal.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke about Havertz in his last press conference and admitted that the injury is different from the hamstring injury he suffered earlier this year. He said:

"Mentally, he's in a good space. He's really a strong boy, very committed. He had an incredible recovery from the hamstring surgery (last season). He never had an injury before, so it was his first experience really. Now, he's got a setback. Let's see how bad it is but I'm sure he's going to react in the best way possible."

Arsenal acted swiftly after Havertz's injury was confirmed and signed Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. The Gunners hijacked Tottenham's deal for the Englishman, agreeing a £67.5 million fee with the FA Cup winners.

Mikel Arteta was in awe of Kai Havertz's transformation at Arsenal

Mikel Arteta spoke about Kai Havertz's recovery from his hamstring injury, saying that the German has transformed his body during the gym sessions. He added that the former Chelsea man was keen on getting back on the pitch and said (via ESPN):

"There's been a transformation in his body. The last three years in his career have been so condensed that he hasn't had time to do that and this has been a window and he really wanted to use it. To be fair, the staff and how they have explained the opportunity that is within with his physique to go to a different level and the things that he can improve and it can even help him mentally as well as being more effective as a player."

"He got on board with that, he worked hard, got on board with that, you can see his presence and I think he destroyed all the metrics that we had in the gym for the last 10 years. Power, acceleration, muscle mass, the way that he has increased certain capacities in his body, his agility, he's been incredible. I was talking to the medical staff the other day and they were talking about that."

Kai Havertz picked up a hamstring injury during the warm-weather training camp in February. He missed the rest of the season for Arsenal and had just returned to the pitch.