Arsenal have been handed an injury blow as new midfield signing Mikel Merino has suffered an injury in his first training session at his new club.
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Merino, 28, joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad $41.5 million earlier this week and was expected to feature against Brighton this weekend.
But speaking to reporters on Friday, Mikel Arteta confirmed that Merino has suffered a shoulder injury.
Merino was shown wearing a sling as he watched Arsenal’s home game against Brighton.
Mikel Merino injury news - Latest update
“Yes, very unfortunate. Yesterday he had a collision and he’s got a shoulder injury. It looks like he is going to be out for a few weeks,” Arteta confirmed. "[It was his] first session. He was very excited, we were all very excited. Everything was looking very good and he landed on the floor and Gabi went on top of him. It looks like he has a small fracture probably.”
Pressed on how long Merino will be out for, Arteta said he wasn’t sure.
“We have to wait and see. He was in so much pain and we have to do more tests and we will then probably have more conclusive answers,” Arteta added.
This is far from an ideal start for Merino at Arsenal, and seems like a very unlucky accident. It can happen at any time in training and it’s just unfortunate timing, right at the start of his time with the Gunners.
When he is fit, Merino will bring extra class, composure and drive to Arsenal’s midfield and is the perfect midfield player for the way Arteta wants to play.
Arsenal’s fans will just have to be a little more patient as they’ll have to wait for at least a few more weeks before they see him play.