Arsenal receive new injury boost as Mikel Arteta favourite 'cautiously optimistic' of December comeback

An Arsenal injury victim is reportedly targeting a return to competitive action for the remainder of the Gunners' December fixture schedule.

Mikel Arteta's men somehow maintained their two-point lead over Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League table over the weekend, surviving a huge scare to edge out 20th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1.

However, the smash-and-grab win came at a cost for the Gunners, who saw experienced defender Ben White taken off in the first half with a hamstring injury.

The Englishman is reportedly set for a month on the sidelines with the issue, adding to Arsenal's unrelenting injury woes as the festive fixtures pile up.

Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera are also out of action, while Jurrien Timber and William Saliba are having to be carefully managed, and attackers Max Dowman (ankle) and Kai Havertz (knee) are still on the treatment table.

Arteta may finally be about to receive some good news on the long-term injury front, though, as HandofArsenal claims that Havertz is pushing to come back from his knee problem before the end of 2025.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz 'pushing' for December injury return

The 26-year-old has not made an appearance for the North London giants since the opening day of the season, having been forced to undergo surgery on a troublesome knee injury.

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann revealed during the November international break that the ex-Chelsea man had suffered a setback in his recovery, as he was initially anticipated to return towards the end of autumn or start of winter.

Arteta stated in early December that it would be a "matter of weeks" before Havertz was involved again, but there is said to be 'cautious optimism' about his chances of returning to action at some point this month.

Arsenal take on Everton (December 20), Crystal Palace (December 23), Brighton & Hove Albion (December 27) and Aston Villa (December 30) in the next couple of weeks, before opening 2026 away to Bournemouth.

Mikel Arteta set for four-way Arsenal selection dilemma?

It was only a few weeks ago that Arteta had to shoe-horn Mikel Merino into the centre-forward slot again, but the Spaniard could now be blessed with a wonderful four-way dilemma in the number nine spot.

Viktor Gyokeres has won his place back in the side since making a full recovery from a muscular injury, but the Swede was found wanting again against Wolves and has failed to score in any of his last five Gunners games.

On the other hand, Gabriel Jesus has caused chaos in his first two appearances since returning from an ACL injury, as Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera scored Saturday's decisive own goal under pressure from the Brazilian.

With Havertz also on the brink of returning and Merino proving his worth as an auxiliary striker, Arteta may soon have four options to choose from up front, which spells bad news for Gyokeres if he fails to cut the mustard in 2026.