Mikel Arteta has responded to rumours of an Arsenal sickness bug after Kai Havertz was left out of the squad who beat Brentford on Wednesday.
Havertz was a surprise omission on New Year’s Day given he had started and scored in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory against Ipswich Town on December 27.
Arteta has confirmed that the German did not feature in the 3-1 Premier League win over Brentford due to illness.
It marks the first time since Havertz joined Arsenal from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 that he has missed a match over illness or injury.
‘With Kai [Havertz] it was obvious,’ Arteta said in his post-match press conference.
‘He wasn’t feeling well at all and he had very clear symptoms so stay away from it, put him in a car and go back to home.’
Quizzed on general illness within Arsenal’s squad and how disruptive the bug was in the team, Arteta added: ‘Yes [there is illness] on the pitch and off the pitch as well.
‘But these things happen, I mean, in this period there’s always things; throat infections, viruses.
‘So I tried to delay the line-up as well as far as possible because you can get up in the morning and have a surprise unfortunately.
‘I hope [players will be fit for Saturday’s match against Brighton]. It’s nothing serious but they weren’t in the ideal condition to play today.
‘I leave [protocol for illness] to the doctor. Obviously it’s in relation to the symptoms that they have.
‘I think [Havertz will be fit for the Brighton game]. I think he will recover very quickly.’
Asked if any other players have had to isolate due to illness, Arteta said: ‘I don’t think so.’
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