Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta may be forced use to his contingency plan for their Champions League clash with Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night. The Spaniard has been rocked by the absence of three key players in training on the eve of their home clash, as the Gunners hope to take another step towards qualifying for the knockout stages.
Arteta is facing the possibility of starting the game without captain Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and fellow striker Eddie Nketiah. All three players were absent from their training session at London Colney in Tuesday ahead of the game with fitness concerns applying to the trio.
Odegaard was not passed fit for the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, although there were hopes that he would recover in time to face Sevilla.
But the Norwegian’s absence will raise concerns once again, while Nketiah has joined Jesus in being a doubt for the clash – leaving Arteta light in attacking options in facing the Europa League winners.
But for Arteta, it will give him a chance to unleash Kai Havertz in a role in which he is familiar but has rarely played in at Arsenal. The £65million summer signing from Chelsea spent the last 12 months of his time at Stamford Bridge as their central striker, a role he didn’t look suited to.
However, Arsenal’s front three is much more fluid and Havertz may enjoy the ability to float around the central areas as a ‘false nine’. His versatility is part of what attracted Arteta to the idea of signing him and, while his Arsenal career is yet to take off, playing there against struggling Sevilla could be what he needs.
Arteta has also shown a willingness to use Leandro Trossard in a similar role when Jesus and Nketiah have been unavailable before. And with Odegaard not certain to be fit in time, Havertz may slot in behind.
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