Manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal will be without Kai Havertz for Wednesday night’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid. Havertz limped off during Saturday’s win over Newcastle and will not feature in the Spanish capital. The Gunners suffered two injuries in Saturday’s 1-0 win against Newcastle, with Havertz and goalscorer Ebelesi Eze sent off.
In his pre-match press conference, Arteta provided an update on the team. “Kai is out, but Evs is ready,” Arteta said. Asked about Riccardo Calafioli and Bukayo Saka, Arteta said: “Those two will be available tomorrow.” He then confirmed that Julian Timber was not in Arsenal’s squad for the tie. Timber came on as a substitute in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton on March 14, but has missed the last eight games with a groin injury and continues to rehabilitate.
Arteta downplayed the injuries to Havertz and Eze on Saturday as “minor minor injuries”, but the German’s problems are clearly more serious. Havertz’s absence is notable for the Gunners, but it also gives Victor Gokeres a chance to break into the starting eleven.
Arsenal topped the Champions League before being eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting Lisbon in the knockout stages. They remain unbeaten in this competition this season and Diego Simeone is well aware of the huge challenges facing his team.
The Atlético Madrid coach said: “We will be playing a tough game against a very good opponent, but as I often said at the beginning, our set-piece strategy is working very well and we will go into it with excitement.”
“I always say it’s good to dream, but the reality is what happens on Earth. And what happens on Earth is what we do and what God wants us to do. So that’s what we do.”
“To be honest, there’s no pressure. There’s no pressure. There’s responsibility. There’s excitement that the club is getting closer to a big goal that it’s never achieved before. And of course there’s extra excitement.”
“And we have to prepare well. We’re going to play the game we want to play, the game we envision. And like we always say, we’re going to take the game to where we want it so we can do damage to our opponents.”
