Mikel Arteta issues injury update after fresh concern from Arsenal vs PSG

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the fitness of Jurrien Timber after the defender was withdrawn during Tuesday night’s win over Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners picked up their first win of this Champions League campaign thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.

It was a statement win for Arsenal given PSG’s unbeaten start to the season, and it will no doubt boost their hopes of progressing through this new Champions League group stage format.

But with fixtures piling up at this early stage of the season, Arsenal fans will have been concerned by the withdrawal of Timber at half-time, especially with an already big injury list.

Asked about the defender’s exit after the game, Arteta said: “He was unbelievable in the first half but he felt something muscular and he was uncertain and I didn’t want to take any risks. He’s been out for a year, he’s played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we wanted in the last few weeks and we have to manage him.”

Merino makes debut

Mikel Merino made a surprise debut on Tuesday night, coming off the bench having returned earlier than expected from his shoulder injury. Asked about the Spaniard’s impact, Arteta added: “Really good, because he joined us and first session he got injured.

“He had only one session with us, he was ready, he was really willing to be part of this today and obviously with the injuries and changes we had to make, we believe that he was the player that could help us in that phase. I think he’s done really well.” Merino was not expected to return until some time in October, but his return is a timely one amid a number of injury issues at the Emirates Stadium currently, including that of Martin Odegaard, who may not return until after the international break.