ARSENAL have been handed a major injury boost in the race for the title.
That’s after Jurrien Timber, 22, was included in the club’s U21 squad for their PL2 game tonight.
The Gunners have taken no chances with Timber’s return to action after he suffered an ACL injury in the club’s Premier League opener.
The defender accompanied the squad to their warm weather training camp in Dubai in January and speculation over when he would be reintegrated into the squad has been rife since then.
Arteta has previously said that he would consider picking Timber in his squad again once he had played with the U21s.
That now looks set to happen with the player included in the squad for the U21s match against Blackburn Rovers tonight.
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Timber has set his sights on a return before the end of the season but whether he will play a role with five crucial games left remains to be seen.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all available to play at left-back, where Timber is likely to be deployed.
The versatile Dutchman can also play right-back and in the centre of defence.
He signed for Arsenal in a £40million deal last summer from Ajax.
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Arteta said earlier this month: “He has a quality that nobody else has in the backline to actually effect, especially in the attacking phases, things that we do, in both positions or three positions.”
Speaking about his recovery, Timber said: “You have to learn while watching. The thing is it’s a long injury, between seven and nine months, but it’s also coming closer every week.
“At some point you need to dig into the way we play and be ready for when I am back. I am involved in meetings, but also a lot of it is about communication. I keep talking to the players, the coaches and I have lunch with them.”
Mikel Arteta’s striker shopping list
By Jordan Davies
ARSENAL are stepping up plans to sign a world-class striker in the summer after their Champions League heartbreak.
Mikel Arteta splashed out £204.5m last summer on Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.
But the Spanish manager accepts he needs a proven goalscorer to take the club to the next level.
And here are the players he is looking at to get the Gunners firing:
BENJAMIN SESKO (RB Leipzig, value £40m-£45m)
One for the future at 20 years old. Scored 16 goals for RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga last season and the Slovenian has carried on that good form in Germany with Leipzig this campaign.
VIKTOR GYOKERES (Sporting Lisbon, value £60m-£80m)
Been scouted several times this season. The Swedish striker, 25, is more of a traditional No 9 so may not suit Arsenal’s demand for flexibility but would bring a physicality that boss Mikel Arteta craves.
ALEXANDER ISAK (Newcastle, value £75m-£85m)
Impressed in his first two seasons in English football. The Swede, 24, has the pace and finesse to match his finishing ability, and Eddie Howe’s Toon may need to sell to balance the books this summer.
JOSHUA ZIRKZEE (Bologna, value £45m-£50m)
Dutch wonder is attracting the attentions of clubs across Europe. At 6ft 4in the 22-year-old forward would have no trouble adapting to the Premier League and already has an eye for goal.
XAVI SIMONS (RB Leipzig, value £70m-£80m)
An incredible talent in the Bukayo Saka mould, currently on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The future of the Dutch attacker, 20, depends on how much money his parent club want to make from him.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
