Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino is set for a spell on the sidelines following concerns over his availability after being left out of the squad against Leeds United on Saturday, as per Sami Mokbel.
After sitting out last week’s 3–2 win over Kairat due to suspension, Merino was expected to feature at least among the substitutes for Saturday’s clash with Leeds.
Instead, the Spain midfielder was missing from the matchday squad entirely, marking his first absence from a Premier League fixture during the 2025–26 season.
Ahead of kickoff, Arteta explained the situation, revealing that Merino has been dealing with a foot problem, believed to be a bone-related concern, which required specialist assessment.
He said: ‘He’s got an issue in his foot. It’s a bone that’s giving him some pain, and we have some exams; we need some more specialists to look at it and to see how long he will be out.’
An update on the situation has now been provided by BBC Sport journalist Sami Mokbel, who reports that Merino is set to face a spell on the sidelines with initial fears tilting towards ‘a number of weeks’.
At the time of writing, the details of the injury are not yet known, but confirmation of how long the Spanish international is expected to be out is expected within the next 24 hours.
Blow
Merino has been one of Arteta’s most reliable players and will undoubtedly be a huge miss. The 29-year-old has registered nine goal contributions in 33 games across all competitions this season.
However, the Gunners are looking for cover, as Alex Crooke, in a new development, claims Arsenal could delve into the market to find suitable cover before the deadline.
Should the Spain international be ruled out for what has been described as ‘a number of weeks’, the timeline points toward an absence of at least four weeks, ruling him out until the end of February and forcing him to miss five matches across three different competitions.
Merino is set to miss Tuesday’s EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea, a boost for the Blues given the midfielder has found the net in both of his last two games against them.
League outings against Sunderland on February 7, Brentford on February 12, Wigan Athletic on February 15, and Tottenham Hotspur on February 22 are also likely to come too early, leaving uncertainty over whether he will be available for the subsequent league encounter with Chelsea on March 1.
