The Dutch man who was one of the first signings of the previous transfer window showed us on Saturday why he’s held in high regard by Mikel Arteta. He came on to replace Zinchenko towards the latter stages of the game and showed with that little cameo of the immense quality he can offer the gunners on a consistent basis.
A long term injury robbed us of seeing him play for the majority of last season, however this is a new campaign for him to finally establish himself as an invaluable member of the squad and a fan favorite.
He showed glimpses of just what he was capable of in the short time he was on the field against wolves, displaying aggression and bite in the duels along with some nimble footwork to get himself out of tight positions to drive up the pitch. This makes him press resistant, solid defensively and a great ball carrier. These qualities in my opinion makes him one of, if not the, most versatile players in the squad and given Zinchenko’s struggles in that left side.
His profile could be trusted to bring more stability to that side of the pitch for us even though I think he’ll be used predominantly as a White or Saliba replacement. Nevertheless a right footed left back with his all round ability could help balance out our left side and potentially help Gabi Martinelli return back to his best.
His cameo against Wolves just says so much about our strength in depth at the back, we have solid profiles to call upon for different game states and that’s the minimum requirement a club of our stature should have.
In most games he’s played for us so far Timber has been used the most at leftback, where else do you all think we’ll see more of him this campaign?
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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Timber looked ready to claim the LB position with his high technical skills and aggression, despite his overconfidence that forced Raya to make a save
We’ll surely need his stronger foot on the left wing to prevent Leon Bailey from cutting inside
Yea@Gai Timber seem a bunch of tarlent at the line LB, RB CB. We need him or Calafiori against Aston Villa. And with Onana physicality in the middle we surely need Pathey to be strong I can bet on Rice.
I’m also worried about Onana’s aerial ability. Emery cleverly signed him to score more from set-pieces and long crosses
He isn’t exceptional technically compared to our players but he can be very combertive in the middle. I worry less about his aerial abilities he didn’t score many goals there for Everton.
I love our defence. I think it will be the best in the PL this season. Hopefully plenty of clean sheets
Jurien Timber is a right fullback. Why can’t people comprehend that he plays on the right side. Play a player out of position,,, expect injuries to incur. Thomas Partey was play out of position at the beginning of last season and look what happened to him,,,, he got injured and was out for most of the season. Same thing happened to Jurrien Timber in the opening match of last season. He was was played out of position. You play a player out of position,,, they are likely to get injuries. I’ve seen this happen over the years. Jurien Timber is not a left fullback. I don’t know what possess people to think he’s a left back when he’s a right back. Some people amaze me with their logic of thinking 💭
👍I hope in this case Timber and Arsenal are ultimately more fortunate.
pjennings
I understand it’s your opinion, but we have seen many players getting injured while playing in their favourite positions. You spoke about Partey getting injured for playing at RB. But, who told you this position was new to him? He used to play there at times at AM. He also plays as an attacking midfielder for Ghana, the versatility Arteta loves
A right footed full back is important when facing left footed attacker like bailey
Question: Would you rather have Havertz play in his favoured midfield position or striker?
the right footed defender vs left foot attacker is a good one, I remember Tomy shutting out Salah (a big mismatch on paper and not Tomy natural position) by deploying that exact tactic
and now you say it, it has me thinking, i was surprised Timber was brought on ahead of Calafiori (for what would be a timely competitive home debut) when Zinc went off, perhaps Timber vs Bailey coming up is exactly what Arteta had in mind
I remember that October ’22 match and it was great to see Tomi shut down the great Salah. Every time they’d try to bomb it over the top to Mo, Tomi would intercept it and you could just see the frustration on Mo’s face. It’s been such a shame losing Tomi to so many injuries. It will be fascinating to see how MA utilizes Calafiori and Timber this season. You may be right about the Timber warmup. If I see Zinny starting at LB I may need a new television or at least a defibrillator standing by.
Well said pj.A natural right back, he has played at right centre back for Ajax and Holland and has figured for his former Club very occasionally at DM a position which fits his skills set very well.Indeed, if Partey moves on Timber could well be used in that vital position for Arsenal.
Grandad, you are wasting your time with some people. I am speechless, when i see some say he is a LB.
I don’t see people saying he is a left back, I see people saying he can play left back well and is most likely to do so for us (or was before the calafiori signing – who knows now).
I am sorry, people are saying he should replace our LB.
Who is our left back? The only player we have I think people see as a “natural” left back is Tierney, and he’s long gone. I assume you don’t mean zinchenko?
He’s a right fullback that mostly played centre back for Ajax?
What amazes me is how close-minded people are and how they have to pigeon hole all the players into a single role – the concept of a utility player is not new. He is clearly capable of playing left back to a high standard. It’s plain as day.
I agree that the idea that playing out of position *can* lead to injuries has a degree of merit, as players can be forced into movements they’re not so used to, but I don’t agree it’s necessarily the case – sometimes it’s just bad luck.
By your logic, how is it possible for players to transition to different roles? Zambrotta and Lahm are examples of players who played both sides of the pitch at fullback and in midfield without serious issue – I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.
The idea partey got injured because he played RB for a couple of games is particularly strange as he was getting injured when playing his normal role before that.
I’m sure that you’re absolutely correct, but we (the fans) don’t pick the teams, just give our opinionions on them, and Saka seems to have remained almost completely injury free since moving from his natural left side.
opinions
partey injury does not really originate from playing RB. for your information he played RB a number of times at Atletico. stop lame excuses
Yes, he did well against Wolves in the time allowed. We’ll get a much better picture of how he’s doing once he gets a reasonable number of full games under his belt (boots). It’s certainly looking hopeful regarding Timber, but let’s wait and see how things pan out.
Welcome timber
I hope Calafiori will be fit and ready for this Villa game. I would prefer him at that LB position. He would add aerial and physical presence to our defence.
Against the Hammers the other day, Villa were very physical – more so than we have known them of recent. Onana in the middle and Duran upfront were particularly impressive in that respect.
We need to match them physically and aerially.
JT will be a versatile player for us this season. He can play anywhere along the back line and we can’t play Ben White every minute.
He is like a new signing and we now have the necessary depth not to be as vulnerable to injuries.
You are very correct and he can play all along the back line, when a back up is needed. But he is a RB and RCB.
he should also be ready to play RCB. Saliba rarely rests. Fatigue can build
Davi, Lahm is a great example of a right footed player playing LB. Iirc it was while he was on loan at Stuttgart when he first started in the LB position. Another couple of right footed players that I remember playing at LB was Denis Irwin at Man Utd and Mick Mills at Ipswich.
👍 mills is before my time but I remember Irwin well – I believe he only became a more permanent left back when Gary Neville came through? Phil Neville might not have been quite on the same level but he mostly played left back and did his part in winning titles for them.
can someone tactically explain this to me, we are always talking of a left sided 8 or left back that will help spark martinelli in the left side of attack to start scoring goals and get back in form but the way I see it trossard plays there and doesn’t seem to have a problem at all, as a matter of fact he bangs goals and gives assists now and then, I am starting to think the problem is just with martinelli
I agree – there’s probably some truth to the way we set up affecting martinelli, but why should we make excuses for him when trossard makes it work? I suppose you could say the manager should also be wise to it and adapt his tactics to the players to some degree – there is a give and take there.
Segugh I think it’s a bit of both. There are tactical aspects that affected him but his inconsistency in terms of end product has to do with him.
About him V Trossard,it’s important to note that they are different players. Trossard works well with Havertz because they can link up with short one-touch/wall pass kind of passes.His ball striking ability is great which means he can score from almost anywhere. He can go either foot as well.
Martinelli on the other hand loves to run into open spaces and that requires someone to spot his run and pass the ball from deep like Xhaka did. He could also benefit from having someone who overlaps on the outside like White does on the right. This takes away markers leaving him with more space to cut inside and take a shot. Calafiori and Merino can help with that.
We shall see, else I think matineli is gradually becoming a one directional player. Trossard- could play anywhere across the front line to great effect. But matineli, once you don’t let him out run you, he’s done. He reminds me of theo Walcott.