Despite securing all three points against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, there is a massive worry among Arsenal fans. Jurrien Timber had to be substituted out of the match due to an injury to his knee, and there’s a lot of pessimism around his timeline. Arsenal have announced that Timber has injured his left knee and will need to undergo additional testing to determine the extent of the injury.
What will be awful news for Arsenal fans is that reports out of the Netherlands suggest that Timber has torn his ACL and will be out for months. Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf reports such news, stating this information is coming from Timber’s camp. Having a top new singing miss such a massive chunk of the season could be detrimental to Arsenal’s title hopes. Timber joined Arsenal on July 14th, for a total package that could rise to £38.5m.
Arsenal does have internal options at the left-back position. Oleksandr Zinchenko is more than capable of being a starter, but for the time being, he is also injured. Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu round out the senior players around Mikel Arteta’s squad capable of playing the position. Kieran Tierney and Nuno Tavares are both left-backs, but neither is expected to stay at the Emirates much longer. Perhaps Timber’s injury stalls one of those departures, but that remains to be seen.
Express is reporting that Arsenal is likely to turn to the transfer market should Timber’s ACL injury be confirmed by the club. It is believed Mikel Arteta admires Aymeric Laporte, but it feels unlikely a move would happen at this stage. Other names listed are Leicester City’s Timothy Castagne and Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters. Express state both players have previously been on the Gunner’s radar and could provide cheap cover for Jurrine Timber, given both are playing for recently relegated clubs.