Mikel Arteta could turn to two young Arsenal strikers to plug the gap left by Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal were handed a seismic injury blow on Wednesday with news that Kai Havertz had sustained a hamstring injury in training and would not play again this season.

The striker joins Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka on the injury table, leaving Mikel Arteta seriously short of firepower. The Spaniard is particularly lacking options through the middle and, with the transfer window closed, will have to look to promote from within.

LondonWorld casts an eye over the two central men impressing for the Gunners under-21 side ahead of potential call-ups to the senior XI.

Khayon Edwards

Arsenal 21-year-old Khayon Edwards has been in form in the Premier League 2 for the under-21 Gunners side this season. The forward has seven goals in his 10 league outings.

Edwards has never made a senior appearance for the Gunners and spent the back end of last season on loan at Leyton Orient in League One. That was a tricky period for the player, who failed to score in seven appearances, but he did earn praise from O's head coach Wellens.

On making his debut, the Orient boss said: “Khayon’s making his debut, 20 years old. We’re starting with a front three, and at times we ran them ragged. Really clever sometimes in pockets, sometimes outside, our rotations were fantastic.

“Part of my team talk was…go out there, enjoy it, energy, speed, skill, express yourself. I thought the young players done that.”

The forward signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in 2022 and was hailed by the club as a 'prolific striker', having scored 16 in 16 for the under-18s side. He said at the time: "I'm very delighted to have signed my first professional contract. I've worked hard for this moment. It's been a very important season for me, but now it's time to step up and prove what I've proved time and time again."

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji has been training with the first team in Dubai this week, as confirmed by the official Arsenal website. The 22-year-old is often deployed at left wing by the under-21 side, but is also comfortable through the middle.

The forward has seven goals and six assists in the Premier League 2 this season and offers a more versatile option to Edwards. Butler-Oyedeji also has a senior Arsenal appearance to his name, playing one minute against Dinamo Zagreb at the end of January in the Champions League.

The striker has had loan spells at Cheltenham and Accrington Stanley, but failed to score during either of those stints. Arsenal U21s coach Mehmet Ali was full of praise for the player when he made his senior debut last month.

Ali said: "It’s unreal for Nathan, the way that the boys were on the bench went to congratulate him after, the way that our boss had the faith and trust to bring him on the pitch.

"Nathan is someone who is an older player but what he does every single day in terms of his professionalism, how he’s a role model for the younger lads, he goes over and trains with the first team, he deserved that (first-team appearance), he earned that and that’s what our manager is all about.

"It’s not a given, you don’t just get that, that’s a lot of hard work that’s contributed to Nathan getting on the pitch and he played tonight so I’m really proud of him and he just needs to keep going and keep pushing."

In other news, the Kai Havertz injury left famous Arsenal fan Piers Morgan fuming, as he posted an expletive message online.