Arsenal are two weeks away from beginning their Premier League title defence and look in a powerful position to go back-to-back in England’s top-flight.
Mikel Arteta’s squad has been reinforced thanks to the arrival of the proven Bruno Guimaraes, who should prove an immense upgrade on Christian Norgaard, and the exciting Christos Tzolis, who is capable of bringing fresh impetus in the attacking areas.
More players may arrive before the transfer window shuts on 1 September. Rumours are escalating that the Gunners may go back in for PSG’s Bradley Barcola, for instance.
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But Arsenal are about to realise there is one player in their squad who simply cannot be replaced by going into the transfer market – and the worrying thing is from the standpoint of the North London club is that he faces what could be a prolonged period out.
When Arteta was asked about the health of Jurrien Timber after Saturday’s 3-2 friendly loss to Borussia Dortmund, he said the full-back is still “weeks away” from fitness.
The 25-year-old saw 55 minutes of action in the Champions League final against PSG, but those are the only minutes he has played since March in what should be a chilling concern for the manager.
Why don’t Arsenal sign a replacement?
Timber has been struggling for six months now, which would typically be a trigger for a team to move in the transfer market for a replacement. But while Cristhian Mosquera has stepped up impressively, there is simply no other player out there currently like Timber who is available.
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Based on the Dutchman’s key attributes per data analytics firm SciSports – transition forcing, defensive positioning and dribbling – as well as the quality of player that Arsenal require to be a functioning member of Arteta’s squad, the pool of players who can fill Timber’s role is vanishingly thin.
Indeed, SciSports indicates there are only two better than Ben White: Barcelona’s Jules Kounde and Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer.
It may be that Arsenal regret not moving for Laimer, who was available as a free agent before he signed a new deal with the German superpower earlier this summer. The 29-year-old Austrian is one of two players of Timber’s profile who is regarded by SciSports as an upgrade – and even then only marginally.
While Laimer might have been available earlier this summer, he is now, like Kounde, an unattainable target.
