Jurrien Timber was a talking point from Arsenal’s draw against Manchester City.
The Dutchman is undoubtedly one of Arsenal’s most consistent players, but the 24-year-old certainly met his match in Jeremy Doku.
Doku was superb against Arsenal at the Emirates, truly testing Timber’s ability as a full-back.
There was a moment that fans at the Emirates and worldwide held their breath in unison as Timber flew into a tackle on international teammate Tijjani Reijnders.
Manchester City fans were unhappy that the Arsenal defender wasn’t punished for the tackle, but early into the second half, Timber did receive a yellow.
Debate was ongoing throughout the fixture over whether Timber could’ve seen red as he was continuously tested on the right side, with Mark Clattenburg now having his say.
Mark Clattenburg dismisses claims that Jurrien Timber should’ve been sent off against Manchester City
Clattenburg shared his opinion on Timber at Anfield when the Dutchman appealed for a penalty after going down in the box.
Though the legendary former referee disagreed with the Arsenal defender then, he was on Timber’s side when it came to the outcry from the draw against City.
Speaking on the Beyond The Back Four podcast, Clattenburg opted to comment on the pressure on Stuart Attwell in such a big game.
“I just don’t think the game needs that type of second yellow card,” Clattenburg said with regard to Timber’s challenging first half.
“There’s got to be a slightly higher tolerance, certainly on second yellows. It’s happened to me many times in huge games; the pressure is so different.”
With experience on his side, Clattenburg gave an insight into how difficult it is to control a game when an early booking is handed out, explaining that it encourages fans to question everything.
“Two or three, because you’re allowed to commit three or four before the first yellow card, but for some reason, the scream is, the moment you’ve had a yellow, you can commit a couple of normal careless challenges that wouldn’t have even been spoken to, and it’s like ‘oh he needs to get sent off’.”
Clattenburg turned his attention back to Timber, doubling down on his opinion that the Arsenal star didn’t do anything to warrant a second yellow card against City.
“Certainly, Timber didn’t need that second yellow card during that game because I thought it was a great game, and if you’ve got 11v11, that’s what we want to see, both teams going at each other.”
Jeremy Doku tested Timber, but a surprising statistic emerged
Some City fans were perplexed that Timber wasn’t punished more firmly at the Emirates, but Attwell was right to resist losing control of the game.
What’s interesting about the discourse surrounding Timber in the wake of the draw is that the defender only committed one foul.
| Jurrien Timber vs Man City |
| 1 foul |
| 1 interception |
| 7 tackles |
| 2x dribbled past |
| 16x possession lost |
| 8 duel wins |
It wasn’t, by any means, the Dutchman’s best game in an Arsenal shirt, which was credit to Doku, but when it came to what Attwell deemed to be a foul, Timber only overstepped the mark once.
As seen from the fallout from Arsenal’s draw at the Etihad last season after Leandro Trossard’s red card, the match was best kept at 11v11.
On reflection, Attwell controlled the fixture well, with Clattenburg supporting that Timber was right to remain on the pitch.
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