Mikel Arteta has described Kai Havertz as a genetic "powerhouse" and backed the Germany international to compensate for Arsenal's failure to sign a forward in January.

“Kai has played a lot of football but his robustness and his availability is unbelievable,” Arteta said. “Genetically, he is a powerhouse. He is so well built. He is a player that anything you ask him, he is happy to do: to run, to be very robust, to make long distances. His body absorbs everything.”

One of the traits Arteta values highly is availability and Gabriel, Thomas Partey and William Saliba are the only outfield players in the Arsenal squad to play more minutes than Havertz in the Premier League this season. The 25-year-old put in another huge shift against City, occupying their centre-backs and linking the play.