Arsenal’s woes were compounded on Saturday as Jurrien Timber was forced out of the action against Brighton, but Mikel Arteta gave a positive update after the game.

In an incredibly frustrating second half on Saturday, Arsenal watched three points turn into one as their 10-man side couldn’t hold onto a 1-0 lead against Brighton. Though the Gunners will be pleased to at least have avoided defeat in the circumstances.

Fan frustrations turned to concern when Jurrien Timber went down in the 80th minute, before coming off for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

With Timber’s recent injury history, there was a worry that he may have aggravated something.

Fortunately, Mikel Arteta was clear after the game that it didn’t appear to be a serious injury.

“No, he was I think cramping,” Arteta said. “He got a kick in the first half and was cramping so we had to take him off.”

Timber missed almost the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign with an ACL injury, and he suffered another more minor setback in pre-season that saw him miss a couple of fixtures during the Gunners’ summer tour.

His return to fitness has seen him starting Arsenal’s last couple of Premier League fixtures, and with any luck he’ll be available again after the international break.

In the meantime, Timber has been called up by the Netherlands for those internationals, so we’ll get our first hint at his injury status based on whether he’s involved in their matches or not.

The Netherlands face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, September 7th at 19:45 BST, then Germany on Tuesday, September 10th at 19:45 BST, in a couple of Nations League fixtures.