An update on Mikel Merino's condition has been provided by Mikel Arteta. The summer arrival sustained a fractured shoulder in his first training session with Arsenal.
The summer transfer season revealed the Spanish midfielder as a major target for the Gunners, and in August he left Real Sociedad for north London. On the eve of his anticipated debut, against Brighton & Hove Albion, the club was shocked to learn that the Euro 2024 winner would be out due to a serious injury sustained in training.
Merino had suffered a shoulder fracture and would require two months to heal, it was subsequently discovered. Arsenal was devastated to hear the news, but manager Arteta has assured everyone that the player is doing "better."
"Because it's a bone and it takes time to heal, it's a slow process," he said reporters prior to Sunday's north London derby. "He is making good progress and has started doing certain things.
He is putting in a lot of effort at work. In order for him to be prepared to return and have an influence on the team, we are also using this time to make sure he understands a lot of the topics he has a lot of questions about.
"It is quite challenging to comprehend how the bone heals. We'll have to wait and watch, but I believe that he doesn't now have many symptoms, so you may expedite [his recovery] considerably because he hasn't lost anything else.
On Sunday, Arsenal will play their rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a derby in North London. After Martin Odegaard's horrific injury sustained while playing for Norway in the international arena and Declan Rice's questionable red card against Brighton, they may have two senior midfield players available to them.
After Fabio Vieira moved to Porto on a loan, Thomas Partey and Jorginho are Arteta's only other senior midfielders. However, Kai Havertz, who started his Arsenal career in midfield before becoming an excellent striker, may be dropped.
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