Arsenal training video released as Mikel Arteta receives double injury boost for PSG Champions League clash

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been handed a double fitness boost before Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg with Paris Saint-Germain, as both Ben White and Mikel Merino trained on Monday.

Neither player was able to take part in Wednesday’s 2-2 Premier League stalemate with Crystal Palace, with White nursing a blow to his knee and Merino managing an unspecified knock.

Arteta was quintessentially tight-lipped when giving updates on both players’ conditions last week, although there was never any genuine concern surrounding their fitness for the first leg.

Any lingering fears over White and Merino can likely now be laid to rest, as the pair were seen on the London Colney training pitches alongside their teammates on Monday afternoon.

Arteta will give a fresh update on their injuries in his pre-match press conference at 7pm this evening, but it appears as if White and Merino will both be given the green light to feature on Tuesday.

Merino recovery solves major Arsenal issue for PSG clash

Merino’s availability in particular is crucial for Arteta, who will be missing both recognised defensive midfielders in the suspended Thomas Partey and the injured Jorginho, who could be out for the season with a chest problem.

Merino has been thriving up front for the Gunners in recent weeks, but with neither Partey nor Jorginho available, the expectation is that he will drop into the left eight role as Declan Rice acts as the number six against PSG.

Had the Spain international not been passed fit for the first leg, Arteta may have been forced to play a wild-card candidate in midfield, most likely the out-of-favour Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Myles Lewis-Skelly and even White himself would have been contenders to fill Partey’s boots too, but Merino will ostensibly be fine to link arms with Rice and Martin Odegaard in the middle of the pitch.

However, White is unlikely to force his way into the XI, as Jurrien Timber has made himself the Gunners’ first-choice right-back, while Jakub Kiwior has shone in Gabriel Magalhaes‘s absence at the heart of the backline.

Which Arsenal players will miss PSG first leg?

© Imago

While White and Merino should make the squad on Tuesday evening barring any late issues, the visit of the French champions will seemingly come too soon for Riccardo Calafiori.

The Italian defender is still struggling with the knee problem he picked up during the most recent international break, although Arteta recently expressed hope that he would be able to face PSG.

However, as Calafiori was not seen with his teammates on Monday, his chances of featuring in Tuesday’s first leg are incredibly slim, although he may be OK for the return fixture in Paris next week.

For now, though, Calafiori joins Jorginho, Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and the suspended Partey on the Arsenal sidelines.

Meanwhile, PSG confirmed their travelling squad for the trip to the English capital earlier on Monday, and the Ligue 1 champions have no injury concerns whatsoever for the midweek battle.

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