Martin Zubimendi paid tribute to injured Arsenal teammate Mikel Merino after his goal in the Premier League clash against Sunderland. The Gunners went in front just before half-time when Zubimendi drilled home from distance after a perfect pass into his stride by Leandro Trossard.

Zubimendi patted the Arsenal badge on his chest after finding the back of the net for the fourth time in the Premier League this season before jumping up and punching the air. He was mobbed by several Arsenal stars including Declan Rice before he took a moment to make his Merino feelings clear.

Once it was just him, Zubimendi did Merino's corner flag celebration, that he took from his father, with his fellow Spaniard later picked out by cameras smiling and applauding.

• Arsenal press conference LIVE: Mikel Arteta on Sunderland, Zubimendi, Gyokeres and title boost


• 'Not the Champions League' John Terry brutally slams Arsenal for post-match celebrations

It had been a challenging first 40 minutes before Zubimendi's strike with the visitors actually coming closest to going in front when Brian Brobbey poked goal wards after David Raya failed to claim the ball. However, Kai Havertz was in the right place at the right time to make a huge block.

The return of the Germany international has come as a big boost for Mikel Arteta but with that, a sizeable blow arrived with Merino undergoing surgery on a foot issue suffered in the defeat to Manchester United.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! ** Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page**

Speaking on his expected lengthy absence, Arteta said: "It is a big blow. Mikel [Merino] offers something unique in the team, but he's going to be out for four months, unfortunately, with a very rare injury.

"So we need to support him, make sure that he's very connected with the team because he can still add a lot of value to the players and the staff and keep him around.”

The 29-year-old has been a key player for Arsenal this season with injuries in attack requiring him to start up front for several games.

He has since dropped back into midfield and while not regularly starting, his impact from the bench has been noticeable, including a goal in the defeat to United.

Arteta was asked about potentially signing a replacement in the January transfer window and did not rule out a deadline day addition.

He said: "When you lose a big player like this in the squad with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look and we need to do everything that we possibly can to see if we have a player that is available."

The most likely short-term signing on the table appeared to be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had been training at his former club for the last few months.

However, he has recently been confirmed as a free signing for Scottish champions Celtic, despite some concerns that his switch would fall through over contract demands. As a result, the Gunners went without adding any late reinforcements to their squad.