After Gabriel: Mikel Arteta says £53m Arsenal star won't return for "weeks" ahead of Brentford game

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided a fresh injury update on Kai Havertz ahead of the Premier League clash against Brentford at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners played out a 1-1 draw against Chelsea on the road last weekend, and will aim to return to winning ways against the Bees on Wednesday evening.

Ahead of the game, Arteta has revealed that Havertz is still sidelined after a knee injury picked up against Manchester United in the curtain-raiser at Old Trafford in August.

The Spanish tactician added that the £53 million-rated star is ‘doing really well’ on the pitch at the moment, but it is a ‘matter of weeks’ before he returns to first-team action.

He said: “Matter of weeks. Let’s see how it evolves in the next few weeks. He’s doing really well, he’s doing stuff on the pitch, but I think he needs some time.”

The manager also said that Gabriel Magalhaes will be out for a few weeks, but William Saliba and Leandro Trossard could be back in the squad in a ‘matter of days’.

The Gunners had a minor blip on Sunday as they shared the spoils against the Blues in west London.

Arsenal were handed a huge advantage with Moises Caicedo’s sending off in the 38th minute, but were unable to capitalise to secure maximum points in the derby.

The club are presently two points clear of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand and have the opportunity to increase the gap to five points by beating the Bees.

Arsenal have had a relatively good record against Brentford. Since the defeat in 2021, Arsenal have won six of the eight meetings between the clubs with a couple of draws.

One of those stalemates came last campaign when Arteta fielded a much-rotated line-up before the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final at Real Madrid.

Saliba and Trossard could be in contention to play tomorrow, but Arteta may not take any risks. The duo could ideally return to the XI for Saturday’s early kick-off at Aston Villa.

Villa have been a bogey club for the Gunners with just one victory in the last four meetings. We believe the pair could be limited to cameo roles before the trip to the Midlands.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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