Inside Jurrien Timber's injury return as Arsenal defender poised for impact during run-in

When Jurrien Timber arrived at Arsenal it was expected that he would take some time to bed in. It took just one training session in Washington D.C. to realise that wasn’t going to be the case. Club sources at the time remarked at how quickly the Dutch international had adapted to Mikel Arteta’s specific tactical demands. “Wow!” was the simple verdict provided by one person inside the Gunners’ US pre-season training camp.

The superlatives from those outside the club would soon follow. He impressed in a cameo against the MLS All Stars before stealing the show in his full debut against Manchester United in New Jersey a few days later. On a sweltering afternoon at the MetLife Arena, Timber was the archetypal Arteta full back. The technique honed at the Ajax academy enabled him to drift into the midfield and build up play, while the competitive streak derived from growing up in a family with four football-obsessed brothers brought a ferocity to his one-vs-one defending. One particularly crunching tackle on Jadon Sancho was noted with great admiration by staff.

Both qualities served him well as he put in another promising display in a feisty affair against Barcelona in LA. What made the display all the more impressive was that it came at left back — a position he had not played in his senior career. This versatility was something Arsenal had identified during their lengthy scouting of Timber. Still though, playing an unfamiliar role in a pre-season friendly against a Barcelona side far from their former glories was one thing. Repeating the feat in a game at Wembley against a Manchester City side fresh off winning the treble was another.

Timber came through with flying colours. He was replaced by Kieran Tierney after 75 minutes,