Mikel Arteta has revealed that his decision to substitute Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber at half-time in the win over Paris Saint-Germain was a precautionary measure.
The Dutchman joined the club in the summer of 2023 from Ajax for a reported £38.5m, but managed just two Premier League appearances in his maiden season at the Emirates Stadium after suffering an ACL injury on his debut against Nottingham Forest.
Timber was back to full fitness at the start of 2024/25 and immediately became a key player for Arteta’s side – making eight appearances across all competitions so far. The defender started once again on Tuesday evening, playing as a de facto right-back thanks to Ben White’s recent injury woes, in the crucial UEFA Champions League clash with PSG.
Worryingly for Arsenal fans however, Timber was only able to complete one half of football in the eventual 2-0 victory, and was replaced by Jakub Kiwior at half-time.
Speaking about the substitution to the press, Arteta confirmed that the defender may have suffered a muscle injury, which motivated the premature withdrawal.
“He was unbelievable in the first half but he felt something muscular and he was uncertain and I didn’t want to take any risks,” the Arsenal boss said of Timber.
“He’s been out for a year, he’s played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we wanted in the last few weeks and we have to manage him.”
Arteta will be hoping that Timber will be back to full fitness in time for this weekend’s clash with Southampton in the Premier League.
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