Arsenal dealt seismic injury blow which could impact Liverpool’s Premier League title charge | OneFootball

Arsenal have suffered a major injury blow which could hinder their hopes of reeling in Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

A win for the Reds in tonight’s Merseyside derby would establish a nine-point gap to the Gunners with the same number of matches played, not an insurmountable lead by any means but one which’d take something special from Mikel Arteta’s side to overcome.

Even with the north Londoners currently in the midst of a nine-day period without a match, they’ve been hit by a significant setback on the injury front.

Arsenal set to be without Havertz for rest of the season

As reported by David Ornstein for The Athletic, Arsenal are now set to be without Kai Havertz for the remainder of this season after he tore his hamstring during the squad’s training camp in Dubai.

It’s not yet known whether the Germany international will require surgery on that body blow, but the report states that his focus is now trained on getting for the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign.

The 25-year-old joins fellow forwards Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus on the Gunners’ injury list, although the former travelled with his teammates to the United Arab Emirates and is expected to return from his own hamstring problem next month.

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

A hammer blow for Arsenal in Premier League title race

Havertz’s season-ending injury represents a huge setback for Arsenal as they attempt to catch Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

Although the German has faced criticism (and some vile online abuse) for his occasionally erratic finishing, he’s still netted 15 goals in the current campaign, scoring one and setting up another in the recent 5-1 demolition of Manchester City, and Arteta couldn’t afford to lose him with so many other forwards also sidelined.

Whereas Arne Slot can call upon six high-quality attackers (despite three of those turning in substandard performances against Plymouth Argyle at the weekend), his counterpart in north London will be reliant on Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling until such time that Saka and Martinelli are back.

Arsenal won’t raise the white flag of surrender just yet in the title race, especially with Liverpool facing into a daunting 15-day period with five Premier League matches (including visits to Everton, Aston Villa and Man City), but their task has undoubtedly become harder with the body blow to Havertz.

Although his prolonged absence could indirectly aid the Reds’ chances of glory by hindering the Gunners, we never want to see any player getting a serious injury, and we wish the 25-year-old a full recovery.