One hour into his Arsenal debut, Jurrien Timber picked up a knee injury that would see him miss almost all of a debut campaign in north London that frustrated. After a single training session, Mikel Merino will be feeling some immense sympathy for his new teammate.
Having signed in the final week of the transfer window, the newly crowned European champion with Spain is set for a period of waiting himself now. “He was really excited and everything was looking really good,” Mikel Arteta said, addressing a fractured shoulder.
“He landed on the floor and Gabi [Magalhaes] landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably. We have to see [how long he will be out]. He was in so much pain. We’ll have to do some more tests on that and then we’ll have more conclusive answers.”
That period is now expected to be around six-to-eight weeks, football.london understands. Merino, who had to watch on at the Emirates Stadium over the weekend as Arsenal were held 1-1 by Brighton, was in the stands wearing a sling to protect his arm.
Not only is it a personal disappointment for the 28-year-old as he works towards a dream debut for the club he has followed from childhood, but it creates tactical issues for Arteta in the short-term as well. So far this season he has not turned to Jorginho, even from the bench, but that is likely to change.
Declan Rice’s controversial red card against the Seagulls means he will miss the next Premier League match with suspension. That is the small matter of a visit to fierce neighbours Tottenham.
To complicate matters more, the international break will mean that Arteta has less time to work with his squad ahead of the North London Derby. When he comes back, there will not be a mainstream backup striker to pick in place of Kai Havertz, should Arteta choose to drop him into midfield to replace Rice. In turn, selecting Jorginho would be a significant move away.
This demonstrates not only the impact of losing Rice but also just how much of a blow it has been to see Merino drop out of contention this quickly. The upcoming fixtures, and those that Merino will almost certainly miss, don’t get any easier, either.
Given Tottenham have now drawn and lost their last two Premier League games, the threat of Manchester City coming one week after the derby will be on everyone’s mind. Lodged in between is a Carabao Cup third round game against Bolton to play while the Champions League starts as well.
Going six weeks on from Saturday, Merino will not be back until at least October 12. That falls in the middle of the second international break, meaning he is unlikely to be seen in action until at least October 20 away to Bournemouth. Eight weeks out would take Arsenal and Merino to October 26, meaning he could also miss a home European tie against Shakhtar Donetsk, with the visit of Liverpool on October 27 to consider.
Before that, Arsenal know that Merino will definitely be out for games against Tottenham, Bolton, Atalanta, City, Leicester, Paris Saint-Germain, and Southampton. It is a testing run this early on in the season and wouldn’t leave much room for getting match sharpness with away games at Inter, Chelsea, and Newcastle to come in November following the October internationals.
