Mikel Merino has stated that Arsenal should not use their growing injury list as a reason for their recent decline in form and has emphasized that they will not give up on their title aspirations. The draw against Liverpool on Sunday left Mikel Arteta's team four points behind leaders Manchester City, with Arsenal still uncertain about the extent of injuries that forced defenders Gabriel Magalhães and Jurrien Timber off the field. The Brazilian defender Gabriel, who was substituted early in the second half and immediately sent for tests, posted a photo of his knee in a protective sleeve on Instagram with the message: "In everything give thanks. We keep fighting together." There are worries that he could be sidelined for an extended period, while Timber had passed a fitness test to face Liverpool after missing the previous four matches. Despite fellow summer signing Riccardo Calafiori also out with a knee issue and club captain Martin Ødegaard yet to return from his layoff, Merino insists that Arsenal can overcome these challenges when they travel to Preston in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and then face Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday.
"The message is clear – this team will not lose focus, it will never give up regardless of the situation or time of year," Merino said. "The focus is to give 100% and learn from every game. We concentrate only on ourselves and what we can do to win each game. We don't look outside the team – despite this result, we don't look too far ahead, we focus on the present. This is our mentality and it's what will bring us success in the future."
Merino understands the frustration of being out of action, having fractured his shoulder during his first training session with Arsenal in August after his move from Real Sociedad. He appeared to sustain a similar injury during the first half against Liverpool but continued to play and scored on his first Premier League start at the Emirates Stadium. "Things happen in football – sometimes you get kicked, sometimes you get a knock, but I couldn't miss the game. I stood up and kept playing, that's it," Merino said.
The former Newcastle midfielder also scored Spain's winning goal in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 with a header and hopes for more goals given Arsenal's prowess at set pieces. "It's something I do sometimes, hopefully I can score many more goals because it's an area of the game where I think I can improve and help this team a lot," he said. "We take pride in our set pieces because we work hard on them and you can see in games that we are getting good results from them. It's not easy to score from set pieces: it takes a lot of commitment and when the first one doesn't go your way, as a team we are always trying to get better. You try, you fail, you try again and finally you get success."
Source link: https://www.theguardian.com
