Mikel Merino was spotted in Arsenal’s squad ahead of their clash with PSG, sparking hopes the £33million summer signing could make his debut in the Champions League match

Mikel Merino could make his Arsenal debut against Paris Saint-Germain.

The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder joined the Gunners from Real Sociedad in August for £33 million.

But during his first training at his new club he suffered a ‘small fracture’ to his shoulder. Merino has missed six games so far due to the injury, but he recently returned to training.

He was also spotted on Tuesday afternoon as the rest of the Arsenal squad attended a pre-match meeting at a Hilton hotel in London.

A video posted by Connor Humm on X (formerly Twitter) showed Merino signing autographs for Arsenal fans before walking into the hotel

Midfielder Mikel Merino introduced himself to sign autographs for Arsenal fans on Tuesday afternoon

Merino was part of the Arsenal squad that attended a meeting ahead of a match against PSG

It is understood Merino could now be included in Mikel Arteta’s squad for Tuesday night’s match with PSG, although he is unlikely to start.

Arteta said on the eve of last weekend’s 4-2 win over Leicester that Arsenal’s match against Southampton on October 5 was a realistic return date for Merino.

Last Friday, Arteta said: ‘Tomorrow is too early. We’ll see next week. He had a partial workout today. He worked so hard.

‘It looks good. It’s about the healing of the bone and how mature that is to actually expose it to contact.

“We’re trying to keep him in the cage because he’s put pressure on everyone – the physios, the doctors, everyone – and he’s ready to go, and he really wants it.

“I think we now feel comfortable exposing him to contact, and he looked really good in training.”

The Champions League match between Arsenal and PSG at the Emirates Stadium starts at 8pm

Merino, 28, pictured during training at Arsenal’s Colney base in London on Monday

Arsenal are looking for their first Champions League win of the season after drawing 0-0 against Atalanta in their opening match.

Meanwhile, PSG got off to a winning start in their final European season last month by beating Girona 1-0 in Paris.