Jurrien Timber has to be managed carefully, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has suggested after taking the Gunners defender off at half time during yesterday’s 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Timber has shone for Arsenal this season, but he’s only recently come back from a very lengthy injury that kept him out for almost the entire 2023/24 campaign, so it perhaps makes sense that Arteta is being careful with him.
The Netherlands international seemingly had some discomfort after the opening 45 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, so Arteta decided to play it safe and remove him, with Jakub Kiwior coming on for the second half of the game.
Arsenal fans will be relieved that it doesn’t seem like anything too serious for Timber, who has really shown the club what they were missing while he spent last season on the sidelines.
Jurrien Timber injury update from Mikel Arteta
Discussing his decision to take Timber off, Arteta said, as quoted by the Evening Standard: “He was unbelievable.
“He felt something muscular and we didn’t want to take any risks. He has been out a year and played a lot of minutes. We have to manage him.”
Timber clearly needs to be monitored after such a serious injury, so AFC supporters will be glad to see that Arteta seems to have a plan in place for that.
It would be a real shame if the 23-year-old picked up another injury so soon after returning for Arsenal, who will no doubt want to have this versatile talent available as often as possible this term.
Timber seems like a natural in any position he plays, having shone at both right-back and left-back so far, while he’s also played at centre-back in the past.
It’s easy to see why Arsenal signed Timber from Ajax, and he’ll surely have a big future at the club if he can stay fit.
