Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber sends six-word message ahead of North London Derby, and Virgil van Dijk responds

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Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has now issued a rallying cry ahead of Sunday’s North London Derby.

Jurrien Timber will have an opportunity to be involved in a North London Derby for the first time on Sunday. 

Although the Dutchman joined the Gunners last summer, an ACL injury decimated his first season at Arsenal, meaning he is still waiting for his first face-off against Tottenham Hotspur. 

With Riccardo Calafiori having picked up an injury whilst on international duty, Timber is the right choice to start against Spurs, and will be relied upon by Mikel Arteta to invert into the middle of the park and support the midfield contingent. 

The 23-year-old is clearly looking forward to the grudge match.

• READ MORE: What is the North London Derby? Everything you need to know about the Arsenal and Tottenham rivalry

Jurrien Timber’s North London Derby message

Timber has recently been playing for the Netherlands on international duty. The Dutch side took on Kai Havertz’s Germany last out, and a footballing rivalry certainly exists between the two nations. 

Following that game, Timber took to Instagram with a six-word statement: “Country rivals! Now onto city rivals.”

Fellow Netherlands international Virgil van Dijk responded to this post with a celebrating hands emoji. 

Key Arsenal role for Timber vs Tottenham Hotspur

As previously noted, Timber will be required to drift infield from his left-back berth and bolster the Arsenal midfield against Spurs. 

Whilst this is a task that Arteta often hands to his left-backs, it will be more important than ever that the Gunners pour as much strength as possible into the midfield zone on Sunday. This is because Arteta will be without so many key players in that part of the pitch for this Tottenham clash. 

Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, and Declan Rice are all unavailable for this fixture. Otherwise, that trio would arguably have formed the manager’s first choice pick of players. Their replacements in that part of the pitch will need all the help they can get, and Timber can form part of that support network.