"Quite close": £65m Arsenal star could make injury return vs Brighton after Arteta update

Arsenal return to Premier League action against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners are presently two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City in the table, while Aston Villa are just three points adrift of them.

Hence, they have no room for error against the Seagulls tomorrow, and anything less than a victory could see them relinquish their first position.

Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta has provided a big injury update on Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes.

The Spanish tactician said that it will be a ‘matter of days’ before Havertz makes the matchday squad, having already returned to full training.

He said on the German: “I think it will be a matter of days, if not weeks. Let’s see in the next step how he responds to that.

“He’s a player that we missed a lot, a player that brings the team into a different dimension. So, I’m really happy to have him back very soon.”

Meanwhile, the manager added that Gabriel Magalhaes has not trained with the group and hinted that the Brighton clash may come too soon for the Brazil international.

He added: “We’ll have to wait and see. He hasn’t trained yet, he’s still doing his rehab. But hopefully as quickly as possible because we know the situation that we have in the back line.”

Havertz could make the matchday squad vs Brighton

The German was spotted in first-team training in the lead-up to the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace at the Emirates.

Arteta acknowledged that Havertz was ‘quite close‘ to making the matchday squad for the London derby. He could be back against Brighton.

The pre-match presser was held on Tuesday night. Based on Arteta’s comments, it won’t be a surprise if Havertz is in the squad tomorrow.

The £65 million signing will of course be handled with extra caution, and he could be restricted to 10-15 minute cameos for a few games.

Just like Gabriel Jesus, he needs to build his match fitness over the coming weeks before he can become a potential starter for Arsenal again.

Havertz’s return would be a huge boost, given he is much better aerially than Viktor Gyokeres. He would provide a different dimension to the attack.

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