Arsenal injury woe goes from bad to worse as Mikel Arteta gets nightmare update
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reportedly discovered the extent of the injury suffered by his new signing, Mikel Merino. And the results are not positive for the north Londoners.
Euro 2024-winning midfielder Merino only signed for the club last week, with Arsenal forking out £31.6million to Real Sociedad for a permanent deal. But a nightmare unfolded in his very first training session, when a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes fractured his shoulder.
According to The Daily Mail, Merino will miss around two months as a result, leaving him out of action until after the next international break in October.
At present, coaching staff at the Emirates Stadium are hoping Merino will be fit to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on October 20 or Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League the following week.
Merino is expected to fight for minutes in Arsenal‘s midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. Thomas Partey has occupied the third spot in the opening weeks of the season, with Jorginho and youngster Ethan Nwaneri providing options from the bench.
Arteta would have loved to be able to call on Merino straight after the current international break, when Arsenal will meet bitter rivals Tottenham in the north London derby. Midfield general Rice will serve a suspension against Spurs after being sent off in Saturday’s draw with Brighton.
When revealing Merino’s injury to the media, Arteta said: “Very unfortunate. He had a collision and he has a shoulder injury. It looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks. He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture, probably.”
