Summer signing Mikel Merino has picked up a shoulder injury during his first training session with Arsenal and according to Daily Mail, the midfielder’s injury is not a minor one.
Arsenal paid £31.6m to Real Sociedad for the 28-year-old but the midfielder has fractured his shoulder which is going to keep him out of action for the next two months.
One of Arteta’s priorities for the summer window was to strengthen the midfielder area and with Mikel Merino coming in, Edu and co have done a very good job. However, the central midfielder’s two-month absence is going to be a big issue for the manager because the Spanish international is going to miss some very important matches.
How many matches will Mikel Merino miss for Arsenal?
If the two-month time frame is correct then Mikel Merino will be back at the start of November and by that time, he will have missed 10 to 11 games.
During this time, Arsenal will play some very important games including Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League. To make matters worse, the Gunners will have also started their Champions League campaign where they will face PSG, Inter, Shakhtar and Atalanta.
How will Arteta handle Merino’s absence?
Arsenal have sent Fabio Vieira on loan to Porto and after the unfortunate injury to Mikel Merino, Mikel Arteta has only three fully fit senior midfielders(Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Martin Odegaard).
Arsenal will play 10 games in a span of just eight weeks which means one more injury in the middle of the pitch and things will crumble within a flash. Thomas Partey is massively injury-prone and last season, he was on the sidelines for 143 days, missing 34 matches across all competitions. If he has a repeat of the same then Mikel Arteta will be in a world of trouble.
Declan Rice picked up a red card in the Brighton match which means he will not be available to play against Tottenham in the North London Derby. Mikel Merino and Rice’s absence for this high-profile game will be a major selection issue for the manager and Arteta will most probably bring Kai Havertz back into the middle of the pitch.
Defender Jurrien Timber can also play in midfield and we think, for the next two months, Havertz and Timber will have to play in tandem to cover and give rest to Arsenal’s three first-choice midfielders.
