Arsenal are screwed without Kai Havertz for the rest of the season, which makes their decision to keep their powder dry in January look a little silly.

Their only route now would be free transfers. You can see a full list of those available on free transfers here, but we have narrowed it down to the strikers…

Wissam Ben Yedder (Last seen: Monaco)
To be fair, he was last seen being given a two year suspended sentence after being found guilty of drink-driving, sexual assault and a refusal to co-operate with the authorities.

Despite scoring 16 Ligue Un goals last season, no club has been touching him with a bargepole since. Or at least they weren’t until he was a guest with Venezia FC last weekend. So if Arsenal want to get a convicted sex offender on their books, they will have to act quickly.

Harold Preciado (Last seen: Santos Laguna)
At first glance, a really poor idea because he is a Colombian international with no experience in European football. At second glance, it is a really poor idea because he is a Colombian international with no experience in European football and he has not played for almost 12 months since he was provisionally suspended for alleged doping.

Maxi Gomez (last seen: Cadiz)
Scored not one single goal in 31 La Liga games in 2023/24 while on loan at Cadiz from Trabzonspor but it would be a shame if the Gunners judged him on that season rather than the 17-goal season of 2017/18 in the colours of Celta Vigo. We are sure he could still do a job, as long as that job was not scoring goals.

Ake Loba (last seen: Club Tijuana)
Once Nashville’s club-record signing, he last scored a goal in October 2023. But the good news is that he has a one-in-two record for the Ivory Coast. In that he has literally scored one goal in two games for the Ivory Coast.

Lebo Mothiba (last seen: Strasbourg)
Arsenal have to act quickly because Mamelodi Sundowns are on the verge of offering the South African international a short-term deal. But the coach is said to be ‘sceptical’ about offering him a contract; he has not played since suffering a very bad knee injury in December 2023. He sounds perfect for the Gunners.

Jarosław Niezgoda (last seen: Portland Timbers)
Has suffered two ACL tears and has not played football for approximately 18 months but his 23 goals in 94 games for Portland Timbers could make him a real contender. According to his Wikipedia, he has a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Leo. Which sounds nice.

Marko Dugandzic (last seen: Al-Tai)
Had one very good season for Rapid București. Probably should have never moved to Saudi.

Mariano Diaz (last seen: Sevilla)
Now we are talking…a bona fide former Real Madrid striker, albeit one who scored only 12 goals in 84 games. But never mind that, he has several La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues. Obviously his best form actually came in the colours of Lyon, where he played as part of a deadly attacking triptych alongside Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir.

If Arsenal ignore all the other seasons (including the last for Sevilla, which saw him score no goals in nine games), then he would be some catch.

Raúl Ruidíaz (last seen: Seattle)
Plus: Scored a really quite respectable 72 goals in 139 MLS games.

Minus: He’s 34.

Gerard Deulofeu (last seen: Udinese)
Yes, that Gerard Deulofeu who spent four years at Everton and later returned to these shores for a spell with Watford.

And the good news for Arsenal is that he is in the country this week paying a final visit to Goodison Park, saying on social media: ‘How is [the wind] there lads? Hope to see you on 12th [February].’

The bad news is that he hasn’t played football since January 2023, but at this point beggars cannot be choosers.

Diego Costa (last seen: Gremio)
He’s 36 and looking for his 14th club. Could that be Arsenal? Frankly no but the idea is simply delicious.

He has form with the Gunners, scoring the only goal of the Europa League semi-finals of 2018 after the only goal of a Chelsea win at the Emirates in 2016.

He’s mad, bad, dangerous to know, and we want to see this happen.