Mikel Arteta gives Kai Havertz injury update ahead of Arsenal's crucial Newcastle play-off

Kai Havertz has a chance of playing for Arsenal against Newcastle after breaking all metrics in his return to the squad.

Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of Arsenal’s match with Newcastle United with the sides locked in a battle to finish second in the league. While it would have been hoped the top two would have been sorted with just two games left, the Gunners poor domestic form means it is still up for grabs.

Arteta was not best pleased last week when his team had to come back from two goals down to claim a draw at Anfield. It was the manner in which they found themselves two goals down which irked the manager, and injuries to players like Leandro Trossard and the suspension of Mikel Merino will have only compounded those frustrations.

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The key interest was of course in Havertz having seen him return to the open training session this week. Arteta was asked if he had a chance of playing this weekend.

"We're going to decide that tomorrow," he said. "He's done certain part of the sessions in the last two days. It's with the medical staff and how Kai feels."

Pressed on how he has done on his return he said: "Amazing! It's a credit to him and the medical staff and they've been pushing. He looks in great shape and you see the transformation on him which is really impressive."

Several others, such as Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard, also raise concerns. Arteta again remained coy about their chances, with a final decision yet to be made.

"We're going to have to wait and see if they can deal with things they have not done."

You can follow the clash with Newcastle on our football.london matchday blog. We go live four hours before kick-off and coverage to go on throughout the game.