Given the amount of minutes Kai Havertz will have to get through between now until the end of the season, it is just as well Mikel Arteta views him as a “genetic powerhouse”.
Arsenal’s failure to sign a new forward in the January transfer window means Havertz is their only fit recognised striker, with Gabriel Jesus out for the rest of season due to a knee injury.
Leandro Trossard is able to fill in upfront, and has been used as a ‘false nine’ by Arsenal in the past, but Arteta can envisage a world where Havertz starts every remaining game this season.
“It is a possibility,” he said. “Maybe we go through that scenario and he scores another 15 or 18 goals? Can you imagine? That’s a good scenario.”
That might be wishful thinking, however Havertz has proved to be a remarkably robust player.
Since he moved to Chelsea in 2020, the German has always played at least 45 club games a season. In his first season at Arsenal last year, he clocked over 50 for the first time in his career.
Havertz has always been renowned for having an excellent work ethic ever since he came through the ranks at Bayer Leverkusen, and that has not left him.
Now aged 25 and in the peak of his physical fitness, Arteta views him as one of, if not the best, athletes in the Arsenal squad.
“Genetically he is a powerhouse,” said Arteta. “He really looks after himself.
“When you see the professional, how he lives his life, it is immaculate. He does more than any other player there. That is not a coincidence.
“I think he is so intelligent. He knows what is good for him and what is not. We know how to manage him and we believe that when he says something it is for the right reason, not because he wants to avoid something. When something works, don’t touch him.
“He has played a lot of football but his robustness, his availability is unbelievable. When you ask him, he feels better when he is playing every three days.”
Arteta’s words echo that of England boss Thomas Tuchel, who when he was in charge of Chelsea was also a huge fan of Havertz and his willingness to work.
“The effort is immense, the work rate is immense, the areas of the pitch he covers for us,” said Tuchel in 2022. “When we look at the data, we see a huge amount of sprints and intensity from Kai.”
Arsenal will have seen that data, too. Indeed, in Havertz’s final season for Chelsea before he joined Arsenal, he ranked second in the Premier League for distance covered. He was also ranked second for runs, runs into the box and targeted runs into the box.
“He is so well-built,” said Arteta. “He is a player that anything you ask him, he is happy to do: to run in zone six, to be very robust, to make long distances. His body absorbs everything.”
Havertz will lead the line for Arsenal on Wednesday in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at Newcastle, which they go into 2-0 down.
After that, the Gunners are flying to Dubai on Thursday morning for some warm-weather training and that will at least give Havertz a chance to rest.
There will be no breaks for him when Arsenal return, but he showed last season that he can cope. When Arsenal came back from Dubai last year, he started 21 of their final 22 games in all competitions.
A similar effort will be needed this season, as Arteta is determined to finish the campaign with silverware.
The odds are against Arsenal at Newcastle, though.
There have been 32 instances of a side losing the first leg of a League Cup semi-final by a margin of two or more goals. Only one of those have progressed to the final, with Aston Villa overturning a 3-1 first leg deficit against Tranmere in 1993-94.
But Arsenal at least come into Wednesday’s second leg riding the crest of a wave after a thumping win over Manchester City. They have nothing to lose - and everything to gain.
“The next step is a final in Wembley so we know how big that is, and you can feel it straight away,” said Arteta. “It’s the moment to go full gas.”
