Arsenal have suffered another blow this week as test results have revealed that new signing Mikel Merino will miss the next two months of action with a shoulder injury.
The Euro 2024 winner completed his move to the Premier League club last week as part of a £31.6m deal with Real Sociedad and was expected to make his Gunners’ debut after the international break against Tottenham.
However, in preparation for Arsenal’s match with Brighton at the weekend, the 28-year-old suffered a shoulder injury during his first training session with Mikel Arteta confirming that it was caused when Gabriel Magalhaes landed on the Spanish international after the pair collided together.
According to the Daily Mail, Merino is now set to miss close to two months with his shoulder issue with the midfielder not expected back until the middle of October at the earliest.
This is a major blow for Arteta and it is the third suffered by the Gunners over the past week ahead of a crucial North London Derby on Sunday, September 15.
The news of Merino’s injury is the third major blow for Arsenal ahead of their clash with Tottenham following the Gunners dropping points against Brighton on Saturday and Declan Rice receiving a controversial red card during that game, which means the England star will miss the North London Derby.
Merino would have slotted in for the former West Ham man for the game with Spurs but with both unavailable, Arteta will have to think outside the box a little.
Although it is very early in the season, Arsenal cannot afford to drop more points against Tottenham with Man City starting their campaign in impressive fashion. This makes the North London Derby even bigger as both clubs need all three points.
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