Jurrien Timber revealed that he played through injury last season, so upon seeing him look so tired this season, I am concerned that Mikel Arteta hasn’t learned his lesson.
If Arteta could preserve his players so they never struggled with fitness issues, he would, as the Arsenal manager has favourites, and rightly so.
One of those favourites is Timber, who has played a mind-blowing amount of football since returning from the ACL injury he sustained in 2023.
It’s very easy to forget that Timber tore his ACL on his Premier League debut as the 2023/24 season commenced, which is a credit to the level at which the Dutchman consistently plays.
My concern is that perhaps Arteta has forgotten what the defender has already been through in his career on the fitness front, as he’s playing arguably too much football.
Fill in the blank: Jurrien Timber is now worth £__m to Arsenal
Mikel Arteta hasn’t learned from his past mistake of overplaying Jurrien Timber
Timber has already made 38 appearances for Arsenal this season, but it’s not necessarily the appearances that are concerning me, but rather the minutes.
There are only six occasions this season that Timber hasn’t played a full 90 minutes in the Premier League, which, when also featuring in the Champions League and the cups, is a lot of high-intensity football.
The reason why, as an Arsenal fan, I’m particularly concerned now is because of how jaded the right-back has looked in recent weeks, especially against Tottenham.
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Timber is one of the best right-backs in the world, so it shows when he’s not 100%, which, ironically, before the North London Derby, he wasn’t deemed to be.
Having seen how fatigued the Netherlands international is, I wondered why Arteta still selected him, and it reminded me of a hideous situation the defender found himself in last season.
In June, Timber admitted that he played through injury during Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final clashes against Paris Saint-Germain.
“I only trained one day before the match. I thought I have no idea how to finish this, because I couldn’t even run,” he admitted.
Timber also noted that Arteta was aware of the pain he was in, but still, he started and played 83 minutes of the second-leg.
Reflecting on the conversation he had with Arteta, Timber said: “It hurt so much. The manager thinks: ‘Jur has had a scan, it can’t get worse, make sure you’re ready’, but he doesn’t see how much pain I’m in.”
Reading those words was a concern at the time, but even more so now, as when Timber has looked burnt out and far from his usual level, he’s continued to play, mostly for 90 minutes.
In that regard, Arteta’s decisions are puzzling, as both Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White are eager for minutes, and both are more than capable of playing Timber’s role.
It will be a bad look for the boss if Timber does get injured, as the warning signs are there.
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