Jurrien Timber is absent from the Arsenal squad for their Premier League clash with Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
The Dutch international has made his comeback from an ACL injury in recent weeks, appearing twice for the under-21s. Speaking in his press conference ahead of the match Mikel Arteta admitted that he had a chance of making his first appearance for the first team since August.
“Yes, everybody is fit and available so now it’s the headache to make the right selection,” the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference.
“We won’t know (whether he’s ready) until we throw him in there. It’s tricky because there are only three games to go and he has missed eight months of football, he’s played only 115 minutes of football with the Under-21s, it’s a question that can only be resolved by throwing him on the pitch and we will see what happens, we have to try to nail that decision when [we take it].”
Unfortunately though, Timber is not in the squad as Arsenal seek to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table. It’s a testament to how many players Arteta currently has at his disposal, and perhaps a sign that Arteta does not wish to take any risks at this stage with the defender.
Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko are Arteta’s defensive options on the bench. In the starting XI his team is unchanged. That means that Takehiro Tomiyasu keeps his place at left back.
Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Subs: Ramsdale, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Fabio Vieira, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Jesus.
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