Five potential replacements for injured Arsenal ace Kai Havertz | OneFootball

Heading to Dubai for warm weather training should’ve been a pleasurable experience for Arsenal, but Kai Havertz’s season-ending injury has put paid to that.

The Gunners were already reeling from the news that Gabriel Martinelli will miss a month of action, so losing the German will almost certainly hurt their attempts to catch Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title.

Club expert Charles Watts has even gone as far as to say that Arsenal only have themselves to blame for the situation that they now find themselves in.

Regardless of the whys and wherefores, it’s clear that the North Londoners need to bring in a temporary replacement to see them through until the summer.

With the transfer window closed of course, only free transfers can be considered.

Diego Costa

Diego Costa of Gremio celebrates after scoring the third goal of his team during the match against Flamengo as part of Brasileirao 2024 at Arena do Gremio on September 22, 2024 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. (Photo by Pedro H. Tesch/Getty Images)

Arguably the most controversial hire would be former Chelsea man, Diego Costa.

At 36, he’s become something of a journeyman over the past five years, and currently he is without a club for the fifth time since 2020.

He does know where the goal is however, and he certainly won’t be intimidated by the opposition.

Mariano Diaz

Still only 31, Mariano Diaz has been without a club since leaving Sevilla.

Given his experiences at Real Madrid, Lyon and Sevilla, he’s unlikely to be overawed by the pressure of being the Gunners main man up front.

Santi Mina

Even younger is 29-year-old Santi Mina, who is without a club after a period spent back at Celta Vigo and after a sojourn to Saudi Arabia.

Not the target man that Mikel Arteta arguable needs to be a virtual guarantee of goals, but his skill set is probably more suited to the Gunners.

Maxi Gomez

At 28, the Uruguayan is the youngest on this list. Hasn’t played since last summer and wasn’t particularly prolific before then.

Under a coach as progressive as Arteta, is there a chance he could find the goals he’s been missing?

Wissam Ben Yedder

Wissam Ben Yedder was still banging in the goals for Monaco before last summer when he was let go.

Not yet picked up by any other team, he was found guilty of sexual assault late last year and handed a suspended sentence.

That may be the reason clubs are steering clear.