Arsenal injury blow could now force deadline day transfer with specialist to be seen

Arsenal suffered two injury blows over the weekend and could now delve into the transfer market to strengthen Mikel Arteta's hand and the club's Premier League title push

Arsenal could make a late move in the transfer market amid concerns around Mikel Merino's injury. The Gunners midfielder missed the win over Leeds after suffering from a foot injury before the trip to Elland Road.

The Spaniard is set to see a specialist for the problem with Mikel Arteta confirming the former Real Sociedad star is to undergo examination. Speaking on Saturday, Arteta said: "He's got an issue in his foot.

"It's a bone that's giving him some pain, and we have some exams, we need some more specialists to look at it and to see how long he will be out."

The extent of Merino's injury is set to become clear over the next 48 hours, report BBC. There are concerns Merino will be ruled out for a number of weeks amid Arsenal's title push in the Premier.

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The injury puts Arsenal in a difficult position with scarcely 24 hours remaining of the transfer window. The north London side will be forced to decide if they are content with the depth they have in midfield, with Merino also offering an alternative option to lead the forward line.

The Gunners are weighing up a move, according to talkSPORT, as they debate how to survive without Merino's six goals and three assists in 33 appearances.

Arsenal were also without Bukayo Saka due to an injury against Leeds. The England winger was replaced before kick-off after suffering an issue during the warm-up.

Arteta hinted in December that Arsenal must be prepared to move in the transfer window to accommodate unexpected blows or opportunities.

"The window is there and I mean we are Arsenal and we have to be looking at it, 'Okay, what do we need?'" Arteta said.

"And we have to be actively looking and then, whether we can do it or not, that's a different story. But our job is to always be very prepared because something can happen, so hopefully it'll be very positive.

"When you look across the other clubs, they have 24 or 25 squad players. Although we have had more injuries than expected, some of them not avoidable, we want to be better and we know how important the part of having the right availability with players is going to be this season."