Merino arrived at the Emirates Stadium from Real Sociedad for £31.6million after weeks of negotiations. The midfielder impressed with his displays at Euro 2024 and was signed by Mikel Arteta to bolster the depth in midfield.
"Yes, very unfortunate," Arteta said before the draw with Brighton in August. "He had a collision and has a shoulder injury, unfortunately. He's going to be out for a few weeks."
Arteta added: "It's very disappointing because you can feel the pain of the player, as well. We fought so hard for three months to get the player over the line. The club made a huge effort to bring him in and on day one, for that to happen it's a huge blow.
"He had the incident and he carried on playing and training. At some point, we were looking at him and thought that he did not look right. It shows you how much he wanted it and did not want to accept that was happening, that moment. But actually, that is what happened."
Celebrating David Raya's birthday on Sunday evening following the North London derby win over Tottenham, Merino was spotted without a sling on his shoulder while clapping as the birthday cake was brought to the table.
Arsenal will be hoping to have the Spain international back sooner rather than later, having lost Martin Odegaard to injury. The Gunners' captain missed the north London derby after suffering an ankle injury during the international break.
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