Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the accumulation of long-term injuries experienced by some clubs is an “accident waiting to happen” because of the increased demands on players in a busy soccer calendar.

Mikel Arteta has described Kai Havertz's hamstring injury as "an accident waiting to happen" and issued a rallying cry to his players to show "what you're made of" in his absence. The 25-year-old will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season after sustaining the problem while defending a set-piece during the club's winter training break in Dubai earlier this week.

Kai Havertz will undergo surgery on his torn hamstring in the coming days, Arsenal have announced, with his rehabilitation program due to carry through into the 2025-26 preseason. Havertz suffered the injury at his side's warm-weather training camp in Dubai last week but the full extent of the injury only became apparent on returning to London earlier this week.