Latest Arsenal injury and suspension news as nine miss PSG as Mikel Merino update expected

When it rains it pours. For Arsenal it has been monsoon season for eight months and counting. There has hardly been a week go by without new injuries, and the past few days have been no exception.

Already missing Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Takehiro Tomiyasu to season-ending surgery, players are being regularly ruled out by the day. One press conference it's Jorginho, then it's Riccardo Calafiori, now Ben White has another problem.

This is what Mikel Arteta has been balancing since September and Martin Odegaard's damaging ankle knock. Bukayo Saka was sidelined for four months after needing a hamstring procedure. Gabriel Martinelli has missed parts. Declan Rice's sheer will, meanwhile, seems to hold the squad together along with William Saliba.

Very few have escaped the injury curse this season. Jurrien Timber, who hardly played in his first 12 months in north London, has been one of those to remain available throughout.

It all comes to a head here. Arsenal will go up against a fully operational Paris Saint-Germain side in the Champions League next week. Across two legs, one of these two teams chasing European glory for the first time will be in the final.

Luis Enrique's men are as close to total fitness as can be. Such has been PSG's domestic dominance this season, he has been able to rotate, rest, and plan multiple games ahead in Ligue 1 to ensure his players approach each match in the best way.

Despite having three games in six days this week - during which Arsenal have only two, and are now done until the first leg on Tuesday - PSG have maintained a steady flow and cycle of players going in and out of the squad and starting XI. Enrique has nothing to worry about.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will not only be without Thomas Partey through suspension but also now have a nervy wait for the latest on Mikel Merino. Partey picked up a late yellow card against Real Madrid and has been banned. Although the booking accumulation is cut off at this stage, suspensions carry over.

If being without him wasn't bad enough, Jorginho is at risk of missing the rest of the season. "I think Jorgi will be out for a few weeks," Arteta said before the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

He was hopeful of having the Italian back before the end of May but could not confirm it. "I'm not certain. So we have to see how he works in the next few days, I would say, a few weeks.

"The doctor was quite cautious still about talking about any dates. So let's see. [The] 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."

Without both Partey and Jorginho for the first leg, Arteta knows he will have to experiment. Merino is a natural replacement despite having been used as an unorthodox striker since Kai Havertz's injury in February.

As for Havertz, he had been expected to join those out for the season but last week Arteta gave some optimism that he might yet return in time for a potential showpiece Champions League final.

"Semi-finals? I think that's too close," he admitted. "But if I had to bet on him earlier than expected, I would say yes. The way he works every day in that gym, pushing everybody, I don't think you can hold him much longer."

The midfield is the real problem area. No longer just being with the bare minimum, Arteta could be forced to shift his pieces around the board and into unfamiliar roles if Merino is out.

He played both legs against Real Madrid and also featured from the bench against Brentford in the middle and for an hour at Ipswich Town. He was not involved on Wednesday, though.

"Yeah, we'll have to wait and see," Arteta could only coyly say. Ben White was also absent, continuing his on-and-off run of being in the team.

"They weren't able to be in the squad today," Arteta explained. Both now become big doubts for PSG. On the one hand, Arsenal will have had six days to recover without a match. On the other, "without understanding who is available at the moment, [it is] very difficult [to prepare]," Arteta added.

White has not started two league games in a row since mid-October and has been struggling to maintain his fitness all season. Arteta's defence, without him, is also threadbare.

Calafiori missed the Palace clash and is another who Arteta cannot hang his hat on. Being on the treatment table at this stage of the season is immensely frustrating and it continues a stop-start first campaign at Arsenal.

Are his injuries a big concern for Arteta, though? "Well three of the injuries, obviously, they are impact injuries. One is a really bad twist that could have been worse, to be fair, and it's managing the player as well.

"So now we learn many more things about the player and how we can be much more on top of certain situations to try to prevent them. But it's true that the two main ones, they've been really unlucky and very little that we could have done differently."

What Arteta will hope for is to at least have the option of calling on Calafiori from the bench. Without that, his already small squad reduces in size again.

In total, nine players could be out of the game for Arsenal. Even a best-case scenario (with White, Merino, and Calafiori all making it) leaves Arteta without six.

Very few expected his side to get past Madrid with the issues at play, though. There is an argument that perhaps the adversity is actually playing into bringing everyone closer. Arteta will certainly hope so because his team have been shredded once more.

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