Speculation persists as concerns grow surrounding Arsenal’s Jurriën Timber

The 22-year-old Dutch international has already endeared himself to Arsenal supporters after a strong debut in the club’s Community Shield win over Manchester City, but a possible lengthy spell on the treatment table now looms

By Andrew Thompson

August 12, 2023 at 5:54 pm GMT+1

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal started their 2023-24 push for Premier League honors in front of expected home support with a 2-1 win against Steve Cooper and visiting Nottingham Forest, but concerns surrounding key summer signing Jurriën Timber continue to swirl as the Gunners fear the Dutch international may already be dealing with a potentially serious injury.

Timber, who was given the starting nod at left-back during the Gunners’ 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest was lively and effective during his debut, which ultimately would cost him on the day through no fault of his own after suffering a knock to his knee while going in the tackle which ultimately saw him booked by match official Michael Oliver.

According to Arteta, there were no initial signs of a problem during the interval, but ultimately Timber was removed at the 50-min mark and replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu while limping off the Emirates pitch.

“The physio and the doctors looked at him and were happy to continue. Straight away in the second half, he made a movement and it felt funny. We will have to assess him.”

But it was in the wake of Arsenal’s result that concern has continued to grow, with BBC Sports’ Harry Symeou quoting Arteta as “worried” before the Dutch international will gain further clarity on the severity of the knock.

Mikel said he was ‘worried’ by the way Timber pulled up & described the incident as a ‘weird movement’. Of course, he’ll need to be assessed properly but there’s a feeling of real concern around the severity of the injury.
— Harry Symeou (@HarrySymeou) August 12, 2023

According to former Football.London writer Chris Davison, TNT’s match presenter was heard saying there was confirmation that Timber suffered a knee injury, which will no doubt have fans worried in the coming days after so much promise that has been surrounding his ~£38m move from Ajax.

Should Timber be out for the foreseeable future, the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko to full fitness could not come soon enough, while it stands to note that it was Tomiyasu and not Kieran Tierney (who was not even in the matchday squad despite not carrying an injury) that was brought on to replace the Ajax academy product, lending further weight to the theory that the Scottish international is likely out the door this summer in some capacity.