Mikel Merino says Arsenal cannot afford to use injuries as a reason to allow their form to dip.
The Gunners were faced with a defensive crisis in the build-up to their Premier League title clash with Liverpool on Sunday, with Riccardo Calafiori missing out with a knee problem to complement William Saliba’s suspension – the Frenchman was back for the Carabao Cup win over Preston North End.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber both had to be brought off with knocks, leaving Arsenal to finish the 2-2 draw with a backline of Thomas Partey, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly. The aforementioned pair are said to have avoided any major injuries, but the club have now dropped five points behind Manchester City after a loss and a draw in their last two games.
Speaking before the Preston clash, Merino said: “The message is simple – this team is not going to lose their focus, it’s never going to give up no matter what the situation or what time of the year it is.
“The focus is to go 100% and learn from every game. We focus only on ourselves and what we can do to win every single game. We don’t look outside the team – in spite of 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.
“Injuries are part of the game and they cannot be an excuse for results. Injuries have pros and cons – one of the pros is that we are seeing young players make their debuts and be involved.
“As a club, you want to bring young players through from the academy, give them opportunities and you can see this is a club where everyone is able to do a really good job even though we don’t have important players like Martin [Odegaard] available.
“Things happen in football – sometimes you get kicked, sometimes you get a knock, but I couldn’t miss the game [against Liverpool]. I stood up and kept playing, that’s it.”
Manager Mikel Arteta also fitness concerns elsewhere in his squad, with Martin Odegaard in the late stages of his rehabilitation from an ankle blow while Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are sidelined with knee and ankle complaints respectively.
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