Mikel Arteta has revealed Ben White and Mikel Merino are doubts for the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
The pair both missed Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday and were left out of the squad entirely.
Arteta confirmed before the game at Emirates Stadium that Merino and White were not fit to feature after picking up issues in the wake of Sunday’s win at Ipswich.
“They couldn’t be involved - if not they would have been,” said Arteta. “Unfortunately, after the game [against Ipswich] we had some issues and they are not fit.”
Asked after the draw with Palace if the pair would be fit to face PSG next week, Arteta said: “We’ll have to wait and see, they weren’t able to be in the squad today.”
Arsenal will be especially hoping that Merino is fit to feature against PSG as he has been in fine form.
The midfielder has been playing upfront since February due to an injury crisis that has starved Arsenal of a natural striker.
Merino has filled the void and in Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid he scored once and assisted twice across the two legs.
Arsenal have coped better without White, who had knee surgery in November and only returned recently.
Jurrien Timber has stepped up and excelled at right-back, but he was part of a sloppy defence in Wednesday’s draw with Palace.
Arsenal twice led the Eagles, but they were pegged back on both occasions and Palace claimed a point after an error from William Saliba allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta to score a late equaliser.
“Disappointed with the results and with the performance as well,” said Arteta. “I think we never got the consistency in many areas to completely dominate the game.
“We always had the feeling that yeah, we had the ball, we had possession, we went in front twice, but the game wasn’t grabbed, it wasn’t dominated and controlled in the way that we normally do because we were below the standards in some areas.
“When you are not at your best but you are two times ahead, you have to be able to see the game off, and we weren’t able to do it, especially with what happened in the second goal.”
