Kai Havertz would have started over Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal this season if not for injury, according to a report.
Isaan Khan reports for the Daily Mail that it’s understood that if not for Kai Havertz’s early injury, he would have started the campaign as Arsenal’s first-choice striker ahead of Viktor Gyokeres.
Khan adds that Gyokeres was identified as someone who would need time to settle, so ideally he wouldn’t have immediately become a starter. But as it turned out, Mikel Arteta didn’t have many options.
Initially, it might seem strange to claim that Havertz would have started over Gyokeres. After all, it was Gyokeres in the starting lineup against Manchester United, and Havertz coming off the bench.
But it’s worth remembering that Havertz was still building up his match sharpness after a long injury absence. From early February to mid-May Havertz was out after hamstring surgery, and he only made two brief substitute cameos before the 2024/25 season ended.
So by the time that Manchester United game came around in August, Havertz had spent six months without starting a competitive fixture.
All the same, it seems the plan was for Havertz to take up a starting role in the early months of the season, allowing Gyokeres to bed in before potentially taking over as Arsenal’s starting striker. Then Havertz got injured again, and that plan went out the window.
Havertz is currently expected back in action in November, and it will be interesting to see how Arteta uses his two strikers when they’re both fit.