By Rob Worthington (Deputy Editor)
It’s the history of The Arsenal. After signing Jurrien Timber around a month ago to provide crucial defensive depth, Arsenal have learnt their latest Dutch recruit is set to face months on the side-lines due to a knee injury. The defender, capable of playing anywhere within a back four, suffered a blow to his knee during Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday. He made a challenge on Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White with the ball there to be won late in the first half but appeared to get his legs caught under him and looked uncomfortable for the remainder of the half. Despite his visible discomfort, the physios allowed him to continue to play in the second half. However, shortly after the restart, Timber went down again after struggling to execute a defensive action and was replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu. Little was made of the injury during the game. Timber was able to hobble off, but a report by The Mail has suggested that Timber’s injury is worse than initially feared. Sami Mokbel revealed Arsenal fear their new defensive recruit will face ‘months’ rather than ‘weeks’ on the injury table. So how exactly do Arsenal approach this issue? In the areas he is able to operate in, they are pretty well stacked. At left-back Arteta has shown a willingness to trust Alex Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, and the aforementioned Tomiyasu in the role Timber was deployed in on Saturday. As for right-back, Ben White appears to still be first choice in spite of Timber’s arrival. Tomiyasu is of course also able to play on that side and during his first season at the club was first choice in that role. In the middle, Arteta can still rely on the likes of White, Gabriel, Saliba, and Kiwior. Arsenal are still pretty far away from having to rely on the error-prone Rob Holding in that position, a player who clearly brought the team’s ceiling down significantly when brought into the side last season. So, despite the panic on social media, Arsenal do not really need to act at all. A flurry of calls to make a move for Ivan Fresneda who was heavily linked with a move to north London in January shouldn’t necessarily be listened to by the club. Factored into any decision to enter the transfer market before it slams shut in a few weeks should be Alex Zinchenko’s fitness. The Ukraine international didn’t feature for Arsenal during pre-season, and if there are concerns over his long-term availability, a defender may need to be recruited. The problem with signing yet another defender is where exactly he fits when Timber returns from his injury. With Kieran Tierney expected to be sold, Arsenal can already call upon 5 players in the full-back as it is – Ben White, Alex Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Thomas Partey. When Zinchenko returns from his injury, Mikel Arteta will be able to call upon the defensive four who fired his side to a top of the table spot at Christmas – Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, and Zinchenko. And the slightly more reserved left-back role Timber played on Saturday, refraining from moving into midfield, doesn’t need to be filled by a player as technically gifted as Zinchenko, Partey or Timber himself. Tomiyasu and Kiwior would do just fine in that role. At a push, one would suspect Gabriel could also play there. This is exactly what Arsenal signed Timber for. An injury for him specifically wasn’t planned, but they do have enough depth at the back now to cope with injuries back there. However, the likes of Tomiyasu, Zinchenko, and Partey have proved to be rather injury prone during their time at the club so anxiety amongst Arsenal fans is understandable. Arsenal don’t need to act, and they shouldn’t. If they did, it would be a sign of panic and the players already at the club capable of operating in the areas of the pitch Timber can would be left scratching their heads. This is why you have a big squad. Arsenal have a big squad now and will be just fine without Timber. He’ll be missed, but the Gunners are well-equipped to move forward without him into the new season.
Comments