BREAKING: Jurrien Timber now spotted in training today with Arteta as He is set to be in premier League match day squad next week – welcome back champion
Mikel Arteta may call up summer signing Jurrien Timber in the last two months of the season, which could be a big boost for Arsenal.
The Dutch international was bought by the Gunners for £38 million from Dutch giants Ajax. Timber had a very promising pre-season and an outstanding performance against Manchester City in the Community Shield, but his exciting start was cut short after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury 48 minutes after making his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest in August.
Since then, Timber has not been seen in competitive action and has only recently returned to light training. However, Mail Sport claims that the 22-year-old could return to full fitness before the end of the campaign.
Arsenal easily passed their Champions League group in Timber’s absence and secured a Round of 16 clash with Portuguese giants Porto. Now there is hope that the versatile defender will be back in time for the second leg.
The first leg will be on 21 February at the Estadio do Dragao and the second on 12 March in North London. Timber could make his Champions League debut for the Gunners in the second meeting if his recovery path continues to go in the right direction.
Speaking to Arteta at the end of last year, he shed some light on how well Timber has integrated into the club since his arrival in the summer. “Excellent. Absolutely excellent,” the Arsenal boss explained. “If you talk to anyone in this building, everyone who is close to him will tell you he is a really special man.
“When we signed him, we were really excited. Sometimes when you see a player play and train in your environment, we’re like, ‘Wow, we’ve got an incredible player’.
“He had a big setback and a tough moment to go through and he was really special in the way he handled the situation, really special.”
Timber, along with the rest of his teammates, headed to Dubai, which was a positive sight for all Arsenal fans. Arteta took his team to the Middle East in the middle of the season to recharge their batteries ahead of the second half of the season.
Many fans and pundits have suggested that Arsenal should strengthen their defence before the end of the January transfer window, but if Timber’s return is possible as early as March, Arteta may decide to stick with what he has at the moment.
