Who will play upfront for Arsenal after Kai Havertz's hamstring injury? Mikel Arteta's options explained

The Gunners had been doing a warm weather training camp in Dubai when the German forward apparently pulled up with a hamstring injury.

It’s a major blow for manager Mikel Arteta, who has already lost both Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka to long-term injuries. With Jesus out for the season thanks to an ACL injury, Havertz’s being ruled out leaves him without a striking option.

The news comes ahead of this weekend’s Premier League trip to Leicester City - for which Arsenal are already heading back from Dubai. At the time of publication, we don’t know how serious the injury is or how long Havertz, 25, will be ruled out for.

Assuming that he will miss the Leicester fixture, Arteta will need to come up with an alternative solution. Here are some of the options he could explore:

1. Striker Sterling

Winger Raheem Sterling is on loan at Arsenal from Chelsea for this season, having been one of the players exiled by manager Enzo Maresca. It’s probably fair to say the ex-Premier League champion is probably past his prime, but the magic that made him a household name is definitely still there.

Back in his youth, when he was coming through the ranks at Liverpool, Sterling played more centrally in a deadly diamond formation, overloading the box alongside the likes of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho. He is no stranger to the middle of the park, and is a genuine option for Arteta upfront.

That being said, he won’t provide the same physical presence that Havertz offers, and leaves a bit of a gap on the right-wing in Saka’s absence.

2. False nine

If you don’t have a striker, you play a false nine formation. This is where your ‘number nine’ plays just ahead of the midfield, with the wingers leading the charge upfront.

The system lends itself to quick, short passes, utilising the wingers to set up one-two plays as the entire team works itself into the penalty area together. Crucially, Arteta has the players to make this work.

Trossard could work well as a false nine against Leicester, or Odegaard could fill that role. Against a leaky defence like Leicester, this gamble could pay off - but would likely come undone against stronger teams.

3. Martinelli miracle

Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli is another of Arsenal’s stars currently living in the treatment room, after picking up a hamstring injury against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. But Arteta is hopeful that he could soon make his return.

He said: “I think it was his hamstring and he wasn't comfortable to continue so we'll have to do an MRI scan to see the extent of the injury.”

If Martinelli’s injury is not as serious as first thought, he could be brought into the fold against Leicester this weekend. However, this also risks aggrevating the injury if he’s not fully fit.

4. Turn to youth

Although there are no senior strikers available, Arteta does have some options in Arsenal’s youth system.

Under-23s Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and Khayon Edwards have scored 15 goals between them this season, and Butler-Oyedeji even made a brief appearance in the Champions League group stage. Whether they are ready for the big leagues or not remains to be seen, but what an opportunity this could be for the youngsters to make a name for themselves.

Failing that, breakout star Ethan Nwaneri could be placed upfront. The 17-year-old is a natural attacking midfielder - but so is Kai Havertz, come of think of it. You could even combine Nwaneri starting by putting him into the aforementioned false nine.