After having spent his first season at Arsenal away from action due to a serious knee injury, Jurrien Timber is back.
The defender has started two games for the Gunners so far, coming off the bench in the opening Premier League game against Wolves.
Despite the limited game time after his recovery from injury, Timber was called up to the Dutch national side by Ronald Koeman. He could feature for the Oranje in the upcoming Nations League games.
Ahead of those games, Timber spoke to De Telegraaf about his time at Arsenal so far and how his recovery is coming along.
He insisted that he doesn’t have any fear anymore, even though recovery from an ACL injury can be difficult.
“Sometimes it still feels a bit stiff after a match or training, but in my head it doesn’t play a role at all anymore. When I went out for the first time, I immediately threw tackles again. Without any fear. You can’t just participate halfway, because then things go wrong.”
The defender also spoke about the Premier League and how he is adjusting to the intensity of the game in the English top-flight, saying: “My body has to get used to the intensity of top-level football and the Premier League again. It is much higher and tactically a lot is demanded of you.
“Your brain also has to work hard. Especially in training and during meetings, so that it goes automatically in matches.”
Timber went on to state that even though he isn’t playing at centre-back for Arsenal, he is quite happy to contribute in whatever way he can, especially considering how William Saliba and Gabriel have established themselves.
“The centre at Arsenal consists of Saliba and Gabriel. Where I play does not matter to me as long as I play.
“I can do well there and the national coach can also put me there. It is a really nice position and I also play a lot in midfield. I now have to play a lot of minutes and it helps that I am multifunctional.”
Considering Timber’s ability to invert into midfield and his versatility, he could prove to be a real asset for Arteta’s side this season. Availability will play a huge role as well but he seems ready and raring to go, hopefully that go for it attitude only helps him.
