Arsenal continue to work in the transfer market and, after signing Kai Havertz and Declan Rice, completed the purchase of versatile defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax. For a long time, it was thought that Manchester United were the favorites to sign Timber, but Arsenal managed to intercept the player, expressing their willingness to pay 45 million euros for him.
With Arsenal missing out on a title challenge this spring, the Gunners have been hard at work on strengthening their squad and adding more variety. Mikel Arteta’s team lacked the depth of line-up and choice of performers to keep up with Manchester City and the Gunners are now working hard to have a large selection of players in key positions in the future.
In the new season, Arsenal will not only make a new attempt to compete for the title in the Premier League, but also return to the Champions League. It will be possible to bet on Arsenal matches at the Pin Up bookmaker, which has one of the best betting App in India.
Timber is a generalist capable of closing several positions
One of Arsenal’s biggest problems at a key point in the season was Salib’s injury – the French defender had an excellent season and proved indispensable for Arteta, as Rob Holding was nowhere near the replacement for Salib, who was needed in the most important matches of the season. Timber is just the player who, among other things, will insure Saliba. He is equally effective as a right-back and central defender and in many ways duplicates Ben White in this, providing Mikel Arteta with a lot of tactical options in defense – including the opportunity to play in three central defenders.
It’s surprising that Timber ended up at Arsenal, having been courted for the past year by Manchester United, where his former Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag, works. As soon as ten Hag came to United, Timber was immediately associated with the Red Devils, but apparently Manchester simply were not ready to pay 45 million euros for a defender, while Arsenal considered this amount acceptable. Ajax was in no hurry to sell, as the player had two more years on his contract with the club from Amsterdam, so Arsenal had to accept the terms of Ajax.
Ball possession is Timber’s key characteristic
Why was Arsenal the club that saw fit to overpay a little, but still get Timber? The strongest quality of the Netherlands national team player is his amazing composure in handling the ball, including under pressure. Timber is technically great – no Eredivisie player made more short passes than Timber last season.
For a team like Arsenal, Timber’s skill will be an invaluable asset. It’s worth noting that averaging 75 assists per game is Timber’s figure, which is significantly higher than any Arsenal player last season. Of course, you need to make allowances for the fact that Ajax dominates the field in most matches of the Dutch championship, and Arsenal will have more serious opponents in the Premier League, but all the same, such indicators very much characterize Timber’s game.
Also, Timber’s skillful handling of the ball is in line with Arsenal’s style of play. Another quality of the defender is that he knows how to wear down the opponent with the control of the ball and gives the pass after the opponents start to put pressure on him.
There is something to work on
There are components in Timber’s game that still need to be worked on – with a height of 182 cm, he does not play very well on the second floor and could do better in martial arts that are not his trump card. As a right-back, he is not the best option for setting at the far post at set pieces, and besides, he makes mistakes quite often and can take the wrong position when defending the goal. But Timber is ready to compensate for most of his positional mistakes with excellent speed data – both in jerk and speed at a distance.
It’s hard to find fault with Timber, but still, we also note the fact that he is not very good at making long passes – he will have to work on this component of the game, since Arsenal defenders often use long-range shots into someone else’s half of the field and Arteta will expect progress from Timber in this part of the game.
It will be interesting to see how Arteta will use Timber – as a partner for Salib in the center of defense or as a right-back, with Ben White being transferred to the center of the field. Also, with the current selection of defenders, Arteta can use the three-back formation both during the game and in the initial tactical scheme.
Timber now looks like the perfect signing for Arsenal as he is a young player with the ability to progress, is a good match for the Premier League and Arsenal, and is a versatile player who gives Arteta a wide range of tactical defensive options.
