Jurrien Timber speaks on Arsenal harm disaster as Mikel Arteta offers replace
Jurrien Timber has spoken out after Arsenal clinched a 2-1 victory against Fulham. The 23-year-old was forced to exit the match at the Emirates Stadium due to a knee injury sustained on Tuesday night, prompting Mikel Arteta to adjust his defensive arrangements.
Arsenal were put in the lead by Mikel Merino’s deflected strike from within the penalty area just before halftime. Substitute Bukayo Saka furthered the Gunners’ advantage with about fifteen minutes remaining in the match.
But the celebration was interrupted when Timber went down in evident pain. On-field medics quickly attended to the Dutch defender, who eventually hobbled off the pitch.
His spot was taken by Leandro Trossard; Merino reverted to his midfield position, allowing Thomas Partey to fill in at right-back. Following the showdown with Fulham, Saka commemorated their triumph with an Instagram post celebrating the result.
In a show of solidarity, Timber joined the chorus of fans lauding the Gunner’s star in the comments, posting an emoji possibly hinting that he believes Saka deserves a permanent spot in the starting eleven, reports Football London.
(Image: Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
After the game, in discussion with journalists, Arteta confirmed Timber’s knee injury and addressed his squads persistent injury woes, commenting positively: “The good thing is that it’s been like this the whole season.”
“You see Martinelli today, you say we’re missing three months. You see Bukayo, four months. [Gabriel] Jesus, almost the whole season. How we have managed to be where we are with all those injuries.
“Ben White hasn’t participated at all this season, it’s what it is. We want it so much that we’re going to give it a real go and we are very excited for next week.
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“You can imagine, we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week. [Riccardo] Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien and Gabi Magalhaes. We have still another four, that are so willing that they will do their job.
“You’re scratching your head. I’m having the next few games the same. At the same time it’s been a great learning experience for us and all the coaches and staff to manage that situation.”
He added an insight into the team’s mentality: “At the end the players are going to react to how we react to it. You start to feel sorry for yourself and say it’s impossible, how we’re going to do this, it will be impossible.
“But these boys don’t give you the reason to act like that and look where we are in April.”
With little time to rest, Arsenal is gearing up for their next match, as they travel to Goodison Park to take on Everton on Saturday afternoon, followed by a crucial Champions League encounter with Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
