After last season’s title challenge was derailed by injuries, Arsenal addressed this by recruiting heavily in the summer transfer window, and it’s just as well.
Piero Hincapié, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus all missed Saturday’s win over West Ham, in which Martin Ødegaard suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee, which is set to see him sidelined for around a month.
Meantime, William Saliba, Benjamin White, Bukayo Saka, Christian Nørgaard and others have already sat out matches due to more minor injuries this season, underlining the need for a gigantic squad.
Nevertheless, the fabled ‘when everyone is fit’ scenario could cause Mikel Arteta selection issues, forced to leave senior players out of a 20-man matchday squad entirely, so does one member of Arsenal’s current starting lineup need to up his game to avoid being evicted from the XI?
The latest on Arsenal's injury situation
This has been a rough year for the Gunners on the injury front. Bukayo Saka spent the early months of the campaign out while Gabriel also suffered a major hamstring injury towards the end of 2024/25.
Odegaard has also endured a tough time, picking up yet another problem at the weekend.
Safe to say his recent injury history is a cause for concern. At the weekend, he became the first player in history to be subbed in the first half of three consecutive Premier League matches
His best pal, Havertz, has also found life difficult this year.
After being widely mocked and ridiculed following his £65m move from Chelsea, the German flipped the script by scoring 14 goals during his first season in North London, before adding a further 15 last season.
However, in 2025 so far, the Germany international has seen just 817 minutes of action across all competitions, sitting out 29 matches, and counting.
First, Havertz underwent surgery in February after suffering a serious hamstring injury during the warm weather training camp in Dubai.
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Then, on the opening day of this season, during his 30-minute cameo, the forward sustained a knee injury at Old Trafford, one that required a minor surgical procedure.
This occurred on 17 August, with Havertz forecast to be sidelined for between two and three months, which could see him back in the coming weeks, likely to be in contention by the time Arsenal face Tottenham, Bayern Munich and then Chelsea in the space of eight days at the end of November.
What Kai Havertz's return means for the Arsenal squad
In the meantime, not ready to return just yet, one current starter will be under pressure to improve his performances as a result.
Football supporters love nothing more than a debate, and just how well Viktor Gyökeres has done so far at Arsenal is the hot topic currently at the top of the agenda.
So far, the Swedish striker has scored three goals in ten appearances, bagging a brace against Leeds, as well as netting against Nottingham Forest, both in home games.
Well, ahead of his team’s World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo, Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson believes the striker is in “very good form at the moment”, adding that those criticising him don’t “understand football”.
However, other opinions are widely available, with some asserting that he has so far struggled to make much of an impact, notably Gary Neville who said that he already looks like a bit of a “misfit” surrounded by the more technically gifted players at Arsenal.
Goals
3
1st
xG
3.9
1st
Shots
22
1st
Shots on target
6
1st
Big chances missed
7
1st
Key passes
6
8th
Shot-creating actions
15
8th
Goal-creating actions
2
9th
Touches
195
15th
Touches per 90
24.1
21st
Touches in the box
55
1st
Average rating
6.53
18th
The table certainly supports the zeitgeist that Gyökeres has made a mixed start to life at Arsenal.
As expected, he leads the way in terms of shots and goals, albeit he is underperforming his expected goals, having missed seven Opta-defined big chances, which goes alongside the eye-test that he almost certainly should’ve scored more goals.
Also, he is offering very little other than finishing, ranked bottom for touches per 90 of all Arsenal outfield players to have played 90 minutes or more this season, with a whopping 28% of his touches coming in the opposition penalty area.
Following Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United on the opening weekend, speaking on BBC 5 live, ex-Gunners defender Lee Dixon abelled the forward “vanilla”, struggling to make an impact or jell with team-mates, while Alan Pardew, talking on talkSPORT, stated he was “expecting a little bit more”.
During his time with Sporting in the Primeira Liga, one of the least-balanced leagues in Europe, Gyökeres was accused of being a flat track bully, scoring hat-tricks against Boavista twice, Farense, Estrela Amadora, Vitória de Guimarães and Moreirense, all non-elite teams, hence why many were concerned about his ability to make the step-up to Premier League level.
Well, coming up, Arsenal’s next four league opponents are Fulham, Crystal Palace, Burnley and then Sunderland which, while being stronger than most the Portuguese top-flight has to offer, is a favourable fixture list in which to build some momentum.
If Gyökeres does not significantly increase his goal tally in those matches, he could find himself back on the bench for the North London derby on 23 November, given that Havertz should be back by then. Safe to say he’s very much on borrowed time early into his Emirates Stadium career.
