Arsenal signing could make 1st squad appearance vs PSG | OneFootball

Mikel Merino completed a full first-team training session on Monday and is now in contention to make the squad for Arsenal’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

Mikel Merino in training with Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Arsenal trained in front of the media on Monday afternoon, so we have a little more certainty than usual about the injury statuses of a few members of Mikel Arteta’s squad.

The big one is Mikel Merino, who was involved in training on Monday. Merino had already taken part in partial training last week, but reports on social media suggest he played the full session on this occasion without issue.

Merino now reportedly has a good chance of making the squad for Arsenal’s match against PSG, though he’d likely only be on the bench.

Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus in training with Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal.com)

The other major update was Ben White’s absence. With the right-back missing training through injury, it’s almost certain he won’t be involved in the PSG match.

Back on the positive side, Riccardo Calafiori was training normally without any visible knee support, suggesting his weekend scare was nothing serious.

Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino in training with Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal.com)

There had been reports after the Leicester match that Calafiori was in tears over a potential knee injury, and Arteta confirmed that the player “was a bit emotional after the game”.

With his past ACL injury, the Italy international might have been fearing the worst. But scans revealed no major damage, and his presence in training is encouraging.

Takehiro Tomiyasu in training with Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal.com)

The last player to mention is Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was also involved in Monday’s training session.

Tomiyasu is another player who took part in partial training last week, and whilst it’s unclear whether he played a full part in training this time, his recovery is clearly continuing to progress.