Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Jurrien Timber as he prepares to shine for Arsenal this season following an injury-plagued 2023/2024 campaign.
The defender joined the Gunners last summer as one of the finest players in his role in Europe.
The Gunners had beaten competition from several clubs to secure his signature, and he performed well in pre-season.
However, Timber suffered an injury on his first league start for the Gunners, which caused him to miss most of last season, only returning in the final weeks of the campaign.
Despite the setback, Timber demonstrated his quality upon his return and has since maintained his fitness during this pre-season.
The upcoming campaign will be crucial for him, and Arteta has high hopes that he will excel. Arteta’s confidence in Timber indicates that the defender will play a significant role in Arsenal’s plans for the new season.
Speaking about the defender, the Gunners’ manager said, as quoted by NBC Sports:
“He is a leader. He loves to be on show and a big presence in everything that we do. He is very vocal and extremely gifted technically. He is a great addition to the team.
“He is so willing, you can see that in his body language and the way he acts. He has worked so hard, I think he is in a really good place at the moment. We are going to have to manage him now in the next few weeks, especially because the load he has been able to do in the last few months compared to the next two weeks is very different, but we are very excited.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Timber is one of the finest members of our squad, and he will be a key player for us in the upcoming season.
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Yes, let’s hope he now is able to show he deserves all the praise he has received.
Hopefully as expected, he stays injury free as expected and help impact the team. I see people consider him as an option in the DM position but i don’t think he fits well for that in our team. I consider him a CB and full back at either flanks, He most likely will play in place of Wilo in some games or at RB while Gabriel, Kuba and the imminent new boy Calafiori take spots at the left. Tomi and Oleks for the RB/RCB and LB respectively. Jurrien is not meant to anchor our midfield.
As with Vieira, 2024-25 will be the key season for Timber as he needs to show after his very unfortunate injury what Arsenal paid the money (almost £40m with add-ons) for.
Arteta can’t really afford to have a total of around £75m for the two of them warming the Arsenal bench so they should both get opportunities to show what they can do.
Timber is an exceptional player and will be a great asset to us. However, Arteta must be careful as he is just returning from ACL surgery and I am sure Arteta knows that very well. With the arrival of Calafiori, I think either Kiwier or Zinchenko will be leaving, so lets see.