“I’m scared anytime I see him on ball…in my entire career, he’s the only player I don’t want to face”: Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk names Arsenal attacker as the biggest nightmare in his entire football career
On the whole, it’s hard not to conclude that this has been a rather damaging international break for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
Martin Odegaard is ruled out of the North London Derby, and the Arsenal captain may now be missing deep into October.
Riccardo Calafiori also picked up a knock playing for Italy, even if it is hoped to be relatively minor.
That being said, there are reasons to be positive for Arsenal supporters too.
Kai Havertz was excellent for Germany in a 5-0 win over Hungary, and youngster Ethan Nwaneri was in electric form for England under-21s.
Of course, Arsenal might choose to start Nwaneri on Sunday, which would be a huge vote of confidence at this stage.
Jurrien Timber shares six-word rallying cry ahead of Arsenal’s North London derby
Alongside the names mentioned, Jurrien Timber’s return to international football over the break was also a massive positive too.
The £34m defender was ruled out for almost the entirety of last season, and wasn’t deemed ready to head to the Euros with the Netherlands.
That being said, Timber came on just before half-time against Germany and Havertz on Tuesday evening after Nathan Ake came off injured.
Following his minutes, the Arsenal defender took to Instagram to celebrate a respectable result, and also to look ahead to Sunday’s big derby.
Timber uploaded a collection of photos alongside a caption of: “Country rivals! Now onto city rivals.”
A host of Dutch players replied to Timber, including Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and two players who have been linked with joining Arsenal this summer: Jorrel Hato and Brian Brobbey.
Arteta may use Timber in midfield vs Tottenham
As mentioned, Arsenal will be without some key midfielders when they travel to N17 this weekend.
And Arteta may therefore decide to use Timber alongside the likes of Thomas Partey and Havertz in the middle – an untested combination.
But in truth, there won’t be much familiarity about any midfield the Arsenal manager decides to deploy against Spurs.
Arteta may decide to be more reserved, choosing to deploy either one of Jorginho or Oleksandr Zinchenko in his midfield – experienced heads.
That being said, Zinchenko struggled in midfield for Ukraine on Tuesday evening.
