Mikel Arteta provides Arsenal injury update on Kai Havertz and three more players before Leeds

Mikel Arteta provided the latest team news updates on Kai Havertz, Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Christhian Norgaard ahead of the game with Leeds United.

Arteta was speaking to the media ahead of the Premier League match with Leeds United, where his Arsenal side are looking to make it two from two in terms of wins in the new season. However, ahead of the game, he was dealt some bad news with his squad.

It has been confirmed that Kai Havertz suffered a new injury, which is expected to sideline the German for a period of time. Reports in the forward’s homeland suggested that while it was not a nightmare anterior cruciate ligament problem, there were some cartilage issues.

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Leeds United, Eze transfer, Havertz and Timber fitness and more

READ MORE: Eberechi Eze undergoes Arsenal medical as Leeds United question answered before deadline

Naturally, the Arsenal boss was asked for an update on the matter. However, he failed to give a timeline and maintained that more information needed to be gathered.

"Well he's certainly not fit, and we dont really know the extent of it," he said. "We need some more time and more tests.

"I prefer not to talk about the specifics. We will decide further about what we're going to do."

When pushed for more clarity he replied: "I don't know, the reality is he's not available for tomorrow."

Thankfully, Arsenal have respondedswiftly in the market to secure a deal for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, who has undergone a medical today. He is not likely to be in the squad for the weekend, however, and Arteta has the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Noni Madueke as other attacking options to help cover Havertz in the meantime.

Christian Norgaard also missed the match with Manchester United last weekend. football.london lead Arsenal writer Tom Canton asked the Spaniard what the reason was after the game, to which he replied that he suffered “a small problem” and could not play.

Ben White was also taken off in the game for Jurrien Timber due to a problem. He was not present in the team’s open training in midweek, and so Arteta provided an update on the rest of the squad, including this pair.

"Christian won't be in the squad. With Ben, let's see how he reacts," he said. Adding: "Christian will be out for a week or so."

Jurrien Timber was another player he also commented on after being spotted taking a reserved role in the midweek training session. He said: "On Jurrien we have to manage his load, he has been out for a long time. We had a long week, we have to manage the load and we have decided to take a little bit of training down."

Arsenal face Leeds United on Saturday afternoon at 5.30pm UK time. Coverage of the match will be available on our website from four hours before kick-off and throughout.