Mikel Merino absence raises Arsenal alarm ahead of PSG with two set to miss Champions League semi-final

Mikel Merino not being in the Arsenal squad ahead of their match with Crystal Palace on Wednesday was a nightmare scenario for the club and its supporters. Who would have thought a player who was being widely disregarded as a poor summer signing only a couple of months ago is now such an integral part of this Gunners side?

Since his introduction as an unorthodox striker away at Leicester City, where he scored two goals from the bench, Merino’s stock has skyrocketed. Mainly playing as a centre-forward but also in midfield, his form has been among the top echelons of players in the side.

However, despite another man of the match display last weekend at Ipswich, he was not in the squad at all on Wednesday night. Mikel Arteta remained very tight-lipped on the matter, and football.londonwas told that there was as of yet no clarification on what the issue was that saw him miss the game, only that he was unable to be part of the side.

"Yeah, we'll have to wait and see, they weren't able to be in the squad today," Arteta said when asked if Ben White, who was also absent, and Merino would be in the team for Tuesday. Asked by football.london if after these two games, he now knew who he would select for the match, his answer was rather telling: "Without understanding who is available at the moment, very difficult."

The hope is, of course, that it is something minor and, similar to White, his load was being managed and he will recover in time to face PSG. Should that not be the case, then he will join the other two major misses for the game.

Jorginho was confirmed ahead of Wednesday’s game to be out of not just this match but many others to come. Arteta suggested that while there is still some hope he will play a part in the end of the campaign, the provided timeline was not a positive one.

"We have to see how he works in the next few days, I would say, a few weeks," Arteta said. "So the doctor was quite cautious still about talking about any dates.

"So let's see. Good news is that he's improving. He's feeling much better. It was a quite scary situation, and he's in a good place now."

Thomas Partey is suspended for the match after picking up his third yellow card of the competition. He will be available for the second leg but this is a major blow.

Against Ipswich, Arteta decided to use Declan Rice as the defensive midfielder, Merino on the left of the three with Martin Odegaard on the right. It worked well and all three had good games during the 4-0 win at Portman Road.

This is an encouraging sign for the future. Yet, only, if Merino does manage to recover for the next match.

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