Arsenal’s new signing Mikel Merino (28) has been ruled out for several weeks with a shoulder injury that will force the Spain midfielder to wait for his debut.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta revealed Merino suffered the injury setback in his first training session with the club when teammate Gabriel Magalhaes accidentally fell on him.
Merino only joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad earlier this week and was in contention to make his first appearance in Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brighton.
Instead, Merino, who came off the bench to help Spain win the Euro 2024 final against England, will spend his first few weeks in north London on the treatment table.
“It’s very unfortunate. Yesterday (Thursday) he had a collision and he’s got a shoulder injury and it looks like he’ll be out for a few weeks,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It was in his first session with us. It’s really bad luck, we were all excited, everything was looking good. He landed on the floor, Gabriel fell on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture.
“He was in so much pain, we have to see. He’ll do more tests which will have more conclusive answers.”
Meanwhile, Arteta said Arsenal are set to sign a goalkeeper before the transfer window closes on Friday evening.
England keeper Aaron Ramsdale left Arsenal to join Southampton on Friday after losing his place to David Raya last season.
The Gunners are reported to have agreed a loan deal for Bournemouth’s Neto to serve as Raya’s back-up.
