Arsenal's stance on signing free-agent attacker following season-ending injury to Kai Havertz comes to light: Reports

Arsenal are not planning to sign a free agent to bolster their attacking following Kai Havertz's injury, according to TBR Football. A recent report from The Athletic has stated that the German forward has torn his hamstring while on the Gunners' trip to Dubai this week.

The north London side are already missing Gabriel Jesus, who is out for the season after picking up an ACL injury. Bukayo Saka is currently recovering from a hamstring issue that required surgery.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli also picked up an injury of late and remains sidelined. Havertz's injury, as such, could spell trouble for Mikel Arteta, who is suddenly short in attack.

However, Arsenal will not invest in a free-agent striker as an emergency option and have decided to weather the storm instead. The Gunners are likely to be offered a number of unattached strikers by their agents in the coming days.

The north London side had the option to bolster their attack in January and were linked with quite a few names. Arsenal apparently submitted an offer for Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins that was turned down.

The Gunners also enquired about the availability of Brighton & Hove Albion's Evan Ferguson, but nothing came of it. Mikel Arteta ultimately opted to keep his trust in Havertz, but that decision has come back to haunt the club.

How many goals has Kai Havertz scored for Arsenal this season?

Kai Havertz has registered 15 goals and five assists from 34 games for Arsenal this season, flourishing in a No. 9 role. The player has started 30 games under Mikel Arteta this campaign, highlighting his importance to the team.

Speaking last week, as cited by The Guardian, the Spanish manager had praised the 25-year-old's 'robustness'.

“Genetically, he is a powerhouse. He is so well-built. He is a player that anything you ask him, he is happy to do: to run, to be very robust, to make long distances. His body absorbs everything and then he really looks after himself. We know how to manage him and we believe that when he says something it is for the right reason, not because he wants to avoid something. When something works, don’t touch him,” said Arteta.

Arsenal now have Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling, and Leandro Trossard for the No. 9 role. Nwaneri is too young for the responsibility, while Sterling has been a disappointment so far. Trossard's record in the position, meanwhile, isn't ideal.

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Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Edited by Yash Singh