Mikel Arteta Provides Update On Jurrien Timber’s Fitness After PSG Win

By The Editor
on 1st October 2024

Jurrien Timber was subbed at half-time…

Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Jurrien Timber’s fitness after the 23-year-old was substituted at half-time during our 2-0 win against Paris St-Germain in the Champions League.

Arteta revealed that Timber felt a muscular twinge in the first half and given the amount of minutes he’s played in recent weeks, the boss decided against taking a risk.

Timber started his first Premier League game in a year against Aston Villa in our second game of the season and has been a mainstay in the team ever since.

The injuries to the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White mean Timber’s minutes have exceeded the expected amount at this stage of the season.

“He was unbelievable in the first half but he felt something muscular and he wasn’t certain,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference (via Football London).

SEE MORE: Latest Arsenal news

“He’s played more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks and we have to manage him.”

While Arteta’s comments don’t represent a manager who’s worried about Timber’s long-term availability, you wonder if he’s kept out of the squad on Saturday.

We host a poor Southampton side as we look to maintain our momentum across all competitions and one hopes Arteta uses this game to rotate the squad.

Tomiyasu is now back in full training and is hopefully ready to contribute to the team and it remains to be seen if White recovers from thigh problem.