Jurrien Timber reveals true Ben White feelings amid Arsenal selection headache after injury return

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Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber was asked about Ben White’s return as Mikel Arteta prepares for a selection headache.

Timber addressed the media ahead of Arsenal’s round of 16 Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven. 

The Gunners travel to the Netherlands in search of a lead to take back to North London, as the Emirates plays host to the second leg.

Arteta has several squad decisions to make amid Arsenal’s injury woes, with one crucial call to address in defence. 

• READ MORE: Predicted Arsenal lineup and XI vs PSV as Mikel Arteta makes Mikel Merino striker decision

Jurrien Timber comments on Ben White’s return to Arsenal squad

While Arsenal are struggling for depth in attack, Arteta is fortunate to have numbers at the back. 

The Spaniard has sufficiently stocked his defence, with the fullback areas posing plenty of options. 

Though depth is something Arsenal understand the importance of, now more than ever, such could be about to cause Arteta quite the headache.

Ahead of Arsenal’s clash with PSV, Timber spoke to the media about positional rival Ben White, who has newly returned from injury. 

“That’s the most important thing. Competition is good, especially when you play for a club like Arsenal,” the Dutchman said.

The 2023 signing has done exceptionally well at right-back covering for White’s absence, with there now a battle for who gets the starting spot.

White and Timber are both players of great quality but, offer very different things, giving Arteta a crucial decision to make for the challenges ahead.

Mikel Arteta could field Timber and White

Due to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s rise at left-back, Riccardo Calafiori has had to compete for minutes.

The same could now happen on the right but, Arteta could opt to make further changes on the opposite side instead. 

In the early stages of the season, Arteta fielded Timber on the left to accommodate White on the right, a combination that worked well for the Gunners.

Given how consistent Timber has been, the boss could be tempted to tweak his role rather than force competition with White.

Regardless of what the manager does, Arteta has a hard-working player in Timber, who admitted he thrives off the competition in the Arsenal squad.