Arsenal are heading into the international break with some very good results. They are just one point below Liverpool who are at the top of the Premier League. Mikel Arteta should be proud of himself for getting good results despite facing injury crisis. One of those injured star named Mikel Merino is now set to make his first start for Gunners.
Merino who is currently valued at €50 million by Transfermarkt joined Arsenal in summer. But, he was injured in his first training session at North London. Merino missed many matches due to shoulder injury.
Finally, the Spaniard made his debut for Arsenal in their Champions League clash against PSG. He has also made his Premier League debut when he replaced Jorginho against Southampton. Now it seems like Merino is not very long to make his first start of the season.
Mikel Merino set to make his first start for Gunners
Thomas Partey has been the regular starter for Arsenal this season. As per the recent news he is set to miss the upcoming matches for Ghana. Luckily for Arteta it is not due to injury but is due to illness. Ghana national team said that Partey will miss the matches due to medical issues and is set to be examined by Arsenal soon.
On the other hand, the club captain Martin Odegaard is still out due to the injury. As per GiveMeSport, he may still miss four more weeks and hence Arteta could not use him quickly after the international break.
This makes Mikel Merino an ideal player to step up and make his first start of the season. Gunners will face the league leaders Liverpool after facing Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League. Later they will once again play three straight away games just like last month.
Mikel Arteta spoke very highly of Merino after he made his debut earlier. The Arsenal boss said that Merino is ready and he believes that the midfielder will help them. Merino said recently that he wants to help Arsenal win Premier League and Champions League.
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