BREAKING: Mikel Merino back in Arsenal training to face Tottenham amidst Declan Rice Red Card – Congratulations Arsenal fans
Arsenal will have to wait a while for new summer signing Mikel Merino to make his first-team debut for the club after he suffered a freak injury in training on his first day at the club – and reports have stated that he will be out for up to two months as Mikel Arteta suffered a huge blow to his plans for the season.
The Gunners brought in Merino as their third major summer signing of the season following David Raya’s obligation-to-buy deal becoming a reality from Brentford, whilst Riccardo Calafiori’s move was confirmed from Bologna after he enjoyed a fruitful EURO 2024. Merino has excelled for Real Sociedad and Spain and seemed a natural addition to go alongside Declan Rice in the centre of the park, but with Rice’s suspension after a red card at the weekend, Merino won’t be able to cover him – and may not feature until the end of October, with reports stating that he will be out for up to two months with injury.
Mikel Merino Out For ‘Two Months’ With Injury
The midfielder will have to wait a while for his debut
The report from the Daily Mail states that Arsenal are set to suffer a huge blow just days after Merino signed on the dotted line from Real Sociedad, with the midfielder set to miss up to two months of football after suffering a fractured shoulder in his first training session at London Colney.
Merino, who trained on Thursday with the first-team, landed in a collision with centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes and is now set to miss any games up until the October international break, which is a huge period of time before he can make his first appearance with the Gunners in their Premier League title bid.
The north London outfit will be hoping that Merino will have a chance to return to the fore after October’s international break, where they face Bournemouth before hosting Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, where he will hopefully make his bow in a red shirt.
His injury means that there will be more chances afforded to midfield duo Thomas Partey and Jorginho in the next two months, but with away ties to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City within the space of a week alongside a game away at Atalanta and a home tie against Paris Saint-Germain in that time, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for Arteta.
Merino is a Superb Arsenal Signing
The midfielder is exactly the profile needed by the Gunners
Regardless of his two-month injury, Merino still represents a strong pickup for Arsenal in the transfer window.
This summer has been more about bringing in quality rather than quantity; and with money raised from Aaron Ramsdale’s sale to Southampton in the final days of the window, the £32million spent on Merino does look shrewd given how impressive he was for club and country last season.
Offering a mix of physicality and guise, he will be the perfect foil for Rice to attack the areas as a No. 8 and help Arsenal dominate games in the final third – with Merino keeping the ball moving as a deep-lying playmaker with the Gunners on the front foot.
