'Back soon': £30m Arsenal player should return from injury and be available soon - insider

Arsenal haven’t had it easy in recent times as a number of injuries threatened to ruin their season, but Mikel Arteta has found a way to get the job done.

Mikel Merino joined from Real Sociedad for an initial £27.4 million in the summer transfer window.

However, just as he was settling into life in North London, Merino picked up an injury in training, which was originally estimated to see him out for around 6-8 weeks.

The Gunners had to make do with the likes of Kai Havertz and Jorginho in midfield for the Spurs game, as Declan Rice was absent through his red card and Martin Odegaard suffered an injury.

Arsenal‘s lack of midfield options also led to Ethan Nwaneri making a rare appearances.

But, it may not be long before the midfielder returns if what one Arsenal insider is saying…

Arsenal insider issues a big Mikel Merino injury update

Mikel Merino is still waiting for his first minutes in an Arsenal shirt and it may not be too far away now.

Con Harrison, who was one of the first to break the injury in the first place, has provided a bit of an update on Merino’s current situation at Arsenal.

When speaking on his Twitter account, he stated this.

Of course, we take his update with a pinch of salt, but if his previous history of being the first to news lines comes true again, then this is great for Arsenal fans.

Where will Mikel Merino slot into things?

Mikel Arteta has a decision to make when Merino returns from injury.

Jorginho’s display against Tottenham blew away Alan Shearer, and Declan Rice is now set to return from his suspension, so it may be difficult for the Spaniard to slot straight in.

Martin Odegaard’s injury does leave a slot for potentially Merino to slot into as he showed his creative abilities during the Euros, but that’ll be up to Arteta.

However, with Champions League football on the horizon and EFL cup games entering the fixtures list, Merino will have plenty of opportunities.