Arsenal faced Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening in what wasn’t the greatest game of football Mikel Arteta’s side will play this season.
Indeed, you could very much tell it’s two days before Christmas as two rotated sides faced off in a rather drab affair at a time when fixtures are coming thick and fast.
Arsenal came away with the win on penalties but this isn’t going to be one that goes down in the history books.
There were very few standout performers on the night, and even one of Arsenal’s most consistent players was off his game too.
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Jurrien Timber has been hailed this season for his defensive acumen and ability on the ball, but against Palace, he did look off the pace it has to be said.
Speaking on ITV’s coverage of the game, Lee Dixon couldn’t help but remark on how sloppy Timber looked at times, claiming that the Dutchman was giving the ball away quite a lot.
Jurrien Timber didn’t look himself vs Crystal Palace
Lee Dixon spoke on his commentary on ITV about how Timber was uncharacteristically sloppy in this match.
Of course, Dixon knows better than anyone what it takes to play as a full-back at the top level, and he noted that Timber was off his game.
The pundit stated that Timber had given the ball away on a number of occasions, claiming that too many of his passes were wayward.
“He’s given the ball away a few times here Timber, and that is not like him at all, there have been a few wayward passes here,” Dixon said.
Jurrien Timber needs a rest
Dixon was spot on with his summary here, Timber was off his game against Palace.
It wasn’t necessarily a nightmare performance that would easily be reflected in the stats, but there were clear moments where he was lacking energy and sharpness.
To be honest, it’s hard to blame Timber for his levels dropping. After all, this is his third game in 10 days.
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Timber has had a tough spell, he’s had to play a lot of football in numerous different positions owing to injuries throughout the Arsenal defence.
Timber needs a rest and a break, but, sadly, it won’t be easy for the defender to come out of this team at the moment as a number of Mikel Arteta’s key defenders are still out of action due to injury, and, during this winter period, games come at a truly unbelievable rate.
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