Not just Nwaneri: Arsenal’s "dangerous" Hale End gem can ease Havertz blow
da cassino： It’s just been one thing after another for Arsenal this season.
da fezbet： Just as fans were coming to terms with the news that Gabriel Martinelli would spend some time on the sidelines following the knock he picked up against Newcastle United, news broke, revealing that Kai Havertz had picked up a hamstring injury in Dubai.
The German international is now set to miss the rest of the season, meaning Mikel Arteta’s attacking options are perilously thin.
However, to help ease the blow and prevent the remaining attackers from being played into the ground, the manager could and should turn to one of the academy’s best players this term.
The latest on Arsenal's injury crisis
While the likes of Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are still out of action, the latter for quite some time, the major crisis for Arsenal is in attack, as they are missing four of the six first-team forwards they started the campaign with.
Bukayo Saka, who has nine goals and 13 assists this season, was the first to go down, suffering a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace in late December that required surgery and is set to keep him out until mid-March at the very earliest.
A few weeks after the Hale End icon was ruled out, Gabriel Jesus suffered an ACL injury in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United that will keep him out of action until next year.
Before his injury, the Brazilian centre-forward had racked up a reasonable haul of seven goals and two assists in 27 games.
Then, it was Martinelli, who has seven goals and four assists this season, who went down with another muscular injury, although the good news, if you can call it that, is that he should be back in action by early April at the latest.
Arsenal’s injured attackers
Player
Games
Goals
Assists
Havertz
34
15
5
Saka
24
9
13
Martienlli
35
7
4
Jesus
27
7
2
Total
38
24
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Finally, Havertz is the latest forward to suffer from a hamstring injury and is set to miss the rest of the campaign, which is a serious problem; as for all the criticism he receives, the German is the team’s top scorer, with 15 goals and five assists to his name this season.
Altogether, Arsenal’s injured attackers have scored 38 goals and provided 24 assists so far this season, so it would be apt to describe the current situation as a crisis, one which might require Arteta to play one of the academy’s best players this season to ensure the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling aren’t overplayed and injured as well.
The Hale End star who has to play this season
Fortunately, with players like Khayon Edwards, Ismeal Kabia, Andre Harriman-Annous, and Charles Sagoe Jr, Arsenal have several promising youth stars who can potentially provide cover for the injured first-teamers.
However, suppose the manager wants someone to step up from the youth teams and potentially make an instant impact.
In that case, he might be better off calling up Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, as, unlike some of the other options, he has just turned 22, so the physical demands of senior football should be less of a step-up.
Moreover, while he hasn’t exactly impressed on his previous loan spells, he has been in electric form for the academy this season.
For example, in just 13 games, totalling 1126 minutes, the “dangerous” attacker, as dubbed by journalist Layth Yousif, has scored eight goals and provided six assists.
Butler-Oyedeji’s 24/25
Appearances
13
Minutes
1126′
Goals
8
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
1.07
Minutes per Goal Involvement
80.42′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
That means the 5 foot 10 dynamo is averaging a goal involvement every 0.92 games, or in other words, every 80.42 minutes, which is a pretty impressive rate of return regardless of the level.
In The Pipeline
Ultimately, Arteta shouldn’t be looking to hand Butler-Oyedeji a ton of minutes over the coming months, but given the situation the club find themselves in, he should be giving him enough to ensure the rest of the first team are not completely run into the ground in Havertz’s absence.
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The talented forward is still well-liked at Arsenal.
