Arsenal injury update: Mikel Merino, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Jesus latest news and return dates

Arsenal have injury issues to contend with heading into the first international break of the season.

The Gunners sit fourth in the Premier League table, having been held to a draw by Brighton last time out as Declan Rice was shown a red card.

The midfielder will be unavailable for the north London derby on September, as will new signing Mikel Merino for up to two months after he suffered a shoulder injury.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is a longer-term absentee, while Gabriel Jesus has had an injury-hit start to the season.

Here is the latest Arsenal injury news and return dates...

Mikel Merino

It has been a frustrating start to Merino’s Arsenal career, with the summer signing facing a spell on the sidelines before even making his debut for the Gunners.

The midfielder, who arrived for a fee that could rise to £32m, picked up a significant issue when training with his new team-mates for the first time.

Merino faces “a few weeks out”, according to Arteta, but reports this week claim the midfielder could be out of action for up to two months.

“He had a collision and he has a shoulder injury unfortunately,” Arteta said. “It looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks.

“First session. He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi [Magalhaes] landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably.”

No timeframe has been given on Merino’s return, with Arteta stating more tests are required.

Potential return date: November 2024

Jurrien Timber

Timber handed Arsenal an injury scare when he went down in the second-half against Brighton and was forced off.

The defender missed the final stages of a pre-season with a foot issue, having been out for almost the entirety of last season after an ACL injury, but Arteta played down fears of another setback when asked about Timber’s withdrawal against the Seagulls.

“No, he was I think cramping,” the Arsenal told reporters after the Brighton boss.

“He got a kick in the first half and was cramping so we had to take him off.”

Potential return date: September 15, vs Tottenham

Gabriel Jesus

Jesus played five minutes on the opening day of the season against Wolves but has been out for Arsenal’s two matches since.

The forward has a groin injury, though there is hope that he will recover during the international break and could be available for Arsenal’s tough run of fixtures in September.

Speaking ahead of the Brighton match, Arteta said Jesus was expected to be available “pretty soon”.

Potential return date: September 15, vs Tottenham

Takehiro Tomiyasu

A knee injury continues to keep Tomiyasu on the sidelines, with the versatile defender yet to feature this season.

The Japanese star has not yet returned to first-team training and Arteta’s recent comments suggest a return is not imminent.

"At the moment, it’s difficult to say," he said.

"It’s a bit slow the process of the first phase of that injury. It’s probably for the medical team to say more on that."

Potential return date: Unknown

Kieran Tierney

Tierney initially appeared likely to leave Arsenal this summer, but he suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Scotland at Euro 2024.

That made a summer exit difficult and it means the left-back is still at the club, though it remains to be seen how close Tierney is to returning to fitness.

Arteta said last month: "He needs to focus on recovering in the best possible way, it’s been a tough time for him again with the last injury. We have to try to support him and make sure he gets back fit."

Potential return date: Unknown