Arsenal suffer Mikel Merino injury blow ahead of League Cup clash with Chelsea

LONDON – Arsenal were handed a blow ahead of their League Cup semi-final, second leg against Chelsea on Feb 3 after the club revealed on Feb 1 that midfielder Mikel Merino will undergo surgery for a foot injury.

The injury was sustained during the 3-2 loss to Manchester United on Jan 25.

The Spaniard was absent during Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Leeds United on Jan 31 and the north London club said Merino will be out of action for an indefinite period, after medical reviews confirmed a bone injury on his right foot.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta suggested during his press conference on Feb 2 that he will attempt to find a replacement by the transfer deadline hours later.

“The news of Mikel was very unexpected, especially for such a long time,” he said. “So we are actively looking at options. We will continue through that. Of course. I mean, when you’ve got a big player like him in the squad, with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look.”

Merino said via Instagram: “Time to stop now with a foot injury. Sometimes life throws this kind of challenges when it’s less convenient. Just another opportunity to be strong, resilient and overcome it. We have the best medical team and together we will come back stronger.”

Without Merino, the Gunners will welcome the Blues to the Emirates Stadium holding a 3-2 lead from the first leg on Jan 14.

The 29-year-old Spain international has been a key member of Arteta’s team, with six goals and three assists in 33 games this season. His versatility has been important for the Gunners, having also deputised as a striker on several occasions since his arrival from Real Sociedad in 2024.

With 11 goals and five assists in 2,580 English Premier League minutes since the start of last term, his average of 0.56 goal involvements per 90 minute puts him behind only Gunners’ star winger Bukayo Saka, on 0.63, among Arsenal players during that period, according to Sky Sports.

Arteta has said of deploying Merino as an auxiliary striker: “We are asking him to feel as a No. 9, and he’s not a No. 9, and to do a lot of the things that a No. 9 has to do.

“But he’s such an intelligent player, and his work ethic and his desire to contribute and make others better is that big. And again, those performances give you all the right reasons to continue to trust him.”

Besides Merino, Arsenal’s other injury worry ahead of Feb 3 is Saka, who was injured in the warmup ahead of the win over Leeds.

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has more injury issues with defenders Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo and midfielders Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia unavailable. Winger Jamie Gittens is also out.

But the Blues boss is banking on his squad, rather than individual players. He said on Feb 2: “I don’t have a best XI. I never have done in all of the clubs that I’ve worked with. Why? Because of the demands, the physical demands of the Premier League or Ligue 1 or the Championship.

“You need a squad and you need to use the players in the correct way to challenge over the course of the season.”

Rosenior said his side’s dramatic fightback from two goals down to beat West Ham United 3-2 in the Premier League on Jan 31 showed his side have something “special”.

He will need his team to show more of those special qualities at the Emirates as the Blues have not beaten Arsenal in nine matches in a run dating back to August 2021.

Said Rosenior: “The reality is Arsenal are favourites for the tie... they’ll expect to go through. We need to take it as far as we can and as deep as we can and then the second half hopefully will be massive in terms of turning the tie around.” REUTERS