Arsenal forward Sterling told to seize opportunity after Havertz injury

Arsenal's injury woes in attack keep piling up, as Kai Haverz was the latest addition to the list. The German forward reportedly tore a hamstring during the club's warm-weather training camp in Dubai and will now face the rest of the season on the sidelines, the club confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.

Alongside Havertz, Gabriel Jesus (ACL),  Bukayo Saka (hamstring) and Gabriel Martinelli (muscle) are also in the Gunners' medical department.  And with the North London side's failure to bolster their attack during the recent January transfer window - Aston Villa rejected the Gunners' €71m offer for Ollie Watkins -  Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri are the only recognised forward players available to Mikel Arteta.

Former Arsenal player and now club icon Ian Wright believes the shortcomings in attack could particularly benefit Sterling after his disappointing start to life at the Emirates. The Chelsea loanee has only made three Premier League starts under the Spanish manager this term but has now been presented with an opportunity to prove his worth to the club.

Speaking on the 'Stick to Football' podcast, brought to you by 'Sky Bet', Wright said: "For Kai Havertz to get an injury at this stage is just devastating. You can pull a hamstring, but something has gone wrong if it's ruptured to the point where he's out for the season. He's played a lot of games for us, and Mikel Arteta would be thinking that he needed to get a player in January.

“The opportunity that’s arose for him (Sterling), I thought this is the time where he would have went ‘Wow, OK, I’ve left (Manchester) City, I’ve gone to Chelsea, it’s not gone right but Arsenal, who are trying to challenge for it, have come in for me’. I thought that this would have been, for whatever is happening, (time for) him to buckle down and say ‘Right, I’m going to make this work, I have to make this work’. Or else, he’s going to go out with a whimper.”

“The last time I saw him really come on and do something in a short space of time was against (Manchester) United. That’s what you want to see from him – just come on and try and make something happen. You’re hoping (he can do something) and I think the fans are hoping as well because as soon as he gets it and he comes back, you can hear their groans. So, you just feel like he’s in that place where if he doesn’t do something positive, he knows that it’s coming, and I think that’s not a good place to be.”

 

February 13, 2025