Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Kai Havertz should be fit enough to return to Arsenal’s squad for Saturday’s meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Havertz sat out the win over Brentford on New Year’s Day after picking up a bug, dealing another blow to Arsenal’s already depleted forward line.
Fortunately for Arteta, it seems that the error has passed through the arsenal team without hitting anyone else.
“I think so,” Arteta said of Havertz’s involvement on Saturday. “The ones with the illness, I think they’ll be fine. They’ll train, and if everybody’s fine they should be available.”
Next up, Arteta is excited to welcome back winger Raheem Sterling after a knee injury picked up at the same time as Bukayo Saka went down with a nasty hamstring problem.
“He’s starting to do some things on the pitch, so that’s great news,” continued Arteta. “As soon as possible we want him available. Let’s see how he goes next week and then see if we can have him available for the week after that.”
Defender Ben White remains “weeks away” from a comeback, while Arteta will also manage midfielder Declan Rice’s minutes as he continues to struggle with a minor muscle ailment.
“In his case, he has played a lot of football,” said the Arsenal manager. “We’ve got nine games this month and he’s had a few hiccups in the last few games so he had to come out. We have to manage every player and he’s no exception.”
