

Mikel Arteta has praised the mindset of Kai Havertz for putting himself in contention to make the squad to face Newcastle United on Sunday.
The Germany international ruptured his hamstring in January’s winter break, but was involved in Arsenal’s open training session on Wednesday as he steps up his return.
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“We’re going to decide that tomorrow,” said Arteta.
“So he’s done certain parts of the sessions in the last two days. He looks in great shape, but I think it’s more a shout of, first of all, the medical staff, the doctor especially, giving the clearance, and then how Kai actually feels to contribute if he’s required.”
With Mikel Merino suspended after being sent off against Liverpool, the return of Havertz would be a bonus against a Newcastle side that put them out of the Carabao Cup semi-final earlier in the season.
Havertz was originally forecast to miss some of pre-season, but is ahead of schedule and could play a part in Arsenal’s attempts to seal a third consecutive second-place finish.
“Unbelievable,” Arteta said of his attitude. “I think his work rate, the work that he’s done as well, a lot of credit to the medical staff for the work that they’ve done throughout the last few months, because between then they’ve been pushing each other.
“We know how important Kai is for us. And the fact that he looks in great shape, I think he’s improved a lot of the metrics that are very important for a striker to give himself the best chance. And you see the transformation in him, which has been really impressive.”
Arsenal have several players carrying injuries heading into the penultimate league game of the season, as Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber sat out the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, while Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli also picked up injuries.
“Again, they’ve done part of the session, not a complete session,” said Arteta.
“So we’re going to have to wait and see tomorrow if they can deal with things that they haven’t done because they weren’t ready to do that early in the week.”
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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