Arsenal dealt fresh injury blow as star man picks up knock during Dubai training trip: Reports

Arsenal have been dealt a fresh injury blow as forward Kai Havertz has picked up a knock during their Dubai training trip. According to the Daily Mail, the German forward suffered a hamstring-related issue during their training sessions earlier in the week.

The Gunners have endured an injury crisis across their first team this season. Bukayo Saka has been out for some time, due to a medium-term injury, while Gabriel Jesus will be unavailable for the rest of the season. Gabriel Martinelli has also picked up an injury, reducing the number of the Gunners' available attackers.

The Kai Havertz situation will be a massive concern for Mikel Arteta, who did not sign a striker in the January transfer window. Havertz has scored 15 goals and provided five assists in 34 games this season. The Gunners have upcoming games against Leicester City (February 15) and West Ham (February 22), but Havertz may not be available for these.

In other areas of the squad, Ben White has been out injured, but could potentially return to the pitch in the coming games. Takehiro Tomiyasu has yet to return, and the 26-year-old is expected to undergo a knee surgery, keeping him out of contention for even longer.

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"The errors are part of football" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after crashing out of Carabao Cup

Arsenal crashed out of the Carabao Cup semifinals at the hands of a high-flying Newcastle United side. The Gunners suffered a 4-0 aggregate defeat against the Magpies.

In the first leg, Newcastle won 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium (January 7). The second leg provided the same result, with the Magpies picking up another 2-0 win at St. James Park (February 5). When asked about their defensive errors and problems, Arteta told the press (via the club's website):

"The errors are part of football. We’ve been super consistent, we’ve been really composed and today we gave them hope just by putting the ball to the last line."

"When we did that, we always looked vulnerable because we allowed them to run from the situation and they are a really dangerous team when they are able to do that, but certainly they don’t want to do that, so what can I say."

Arsenal will be aiming to push Liverpool in the Premier League title race as hard as they can. They sit in second place, six points behind the league leaders, who have played a game less.