Mikel Arteta could now unleash surprise partnership that has never been seen before at Arsenal

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal have had a torrid time with injuries this season, and things just aren’t getting better.

The Gunners have had at least one player unavailable at every point since the start of the campaign. That has had a big impact on their results.

Mikel Arteta’s men seemed to be heading in the right direction after November’s international break, but Arsenal lost Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko to injuries.

To make things worse, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber missed training on Tuesday ahead of the game against Monaco in the Champions League.

That could force Arteta to unleash a surprise partnership at the Emirates on Wednesday night.

Mikel Merino and Kieran Tierney could start for Arsenal vs Monaco

Arsenal barely have any full-backs left.

The Gunners have been without the injured Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for a while now. Calafiori and Zinchenko are unavailable too, while Partey and Timber missing training has complicated things further.

Jakub Kiwior can play at left-back if required, but with Gabriel out, Arsenal may need him in the heart of the defence alongside William Saliba.

That leaves the North Londoners with just Kieran Tierney, who is the only senior natural left-back available at Arteta’s disposal right now.

Arteta confirmed that Tierney will get chances to play in the coming weeks, and the Scot could form a partnership with Mikel Merino on the left side of Arsenal’s pitch.

The two players played together at Real Sociedad last season when Tierney was out on loan there. They’ve never been on the pitch together at Arsenal – that could change on Wednesday night.

Tierney and Merino’s record when playing together

Arsenal are in a pretty good position in the Champions League right now.

Arteta’s men have won three, drawn one and lost another in their first five games. A win against Monaco on Wednesday night could push them as high as second in the table if other results go their way.

Tierney and Merino played together on several occasions at Real Sociedad – 24 games to be exact.

The Spanish side won 13, drew seven and lost just four of those games, one of which was in a penalty shootout against Mallorca in the Copa del Rey.

The two players already know what it’s like to play with each other. Add Gabriel Martinelli on the left flank to complete the triangle and we think Arsenal will cause Monaco all sorts of problems on that side of the pitch.