JURRIEN TIMBER is back with a bang after he scored a stunning goal less than eight minutes after his return to action.
The Arsenal star, who has been out injured all season with injury, returned to the grass in a match for the Gunners’ U21 side.
And the summer arrival wasted no time in making an impact after he curled in a superb goal after just over seven minutes on the pitch.
Timber, 22, chopped inside on to his right foot before curling it into the top corner giving the goalkeeper no chance to make a stop.
The superb finish can be taken with a pinch of salt as the former Ajax man was facing off against Blackburn Rovers U21 side in a Premier League 2 match, the Prem’s development league.
However, that didn’t stop Arsenal fans from taking to social media to share their excitement about having their £40m summer acquisition back in action.
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One fan wrote: “WE ARE SO BACK!😭”
While another added: “This guy might be the greatest CB/RB/LB/inverted CM to ever live. Give him the keys and we’ll win it all.”
And a third suggested the full-back should start for Mikel Arteta’s side against Chelsea in the Premier League on Tuesday, writing: “Should directly get into the line up tomorrow.”
The star was taken off at half time of the youth match-up which ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw.
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Timber has been out of action since August when he suffered an ACL injury in the club’s Premier League opener.
And despite accompanying the squad to their warm weather training camp in Dubai in January, he is yet to play any minutes or be in any match day squads since his injury.
Mikel Arteta had made it clear that he wanted the Dutch international to play with the U21s before be made his return to the first team.
And the Arsenal boss will be pleased with what his seen after his stunning goal opened the scoring for the youth side.
Arteta has waxed lyrical about the quality that Timber can offer his side despite having Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu at his disposal in the left-back position.
Speaking earlier this month he said: “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 [full-back] positions or three positions [including centre-back].”
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
