Jurrien Timber
Former forward turned pundit Troy Deeney has heaped praise on Arsenal star Jurrien Timber following his ‘dominant’ performance against Nottingham Forest.
The 24-year-old moved to the Emirates Stadium from Ajax Amsterdam a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, he couldn’t serve properly in his debut campaign after sustaining a serious knee injury in the opening Premier League game against Forest.
However, the Dutchman managed to secure his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI last term amid Ben White’s injury absence, making four goal contributions and keeping seven clean sheets in 30 league appearances.
White commenced the opening Premier League game of the season against Manchester United, but he has been struggling with fitness issues. So, Timber got the nod to start in the right-back position in the next three games and has displayed promising performances.
After scoring twice and notching up an assist against Leeds United, he helped his side keep a clean sheet this weekend. He also kept the sheet clean vs the Peacocks.
Now, while creating his Premier League team of the week for BBC Sport, Deeney included Timber following his ‘dominant’ performance against Forest. Moreover, the former forward says that the Dutchman is a ‘top player’ and has been ‘sneaky good’ thus far this season.
Pundit lauds Timber
Deeney wrote:
“He[Timber] has been sneaky good this year. It looks as though he is fully over his injury and helped Arsenal to another clean sheet with a dominant performance defensively against Nottingham Forest. He is a real top player.”
Timber, valued at around £48m by Transfermarkt, played as a centre-back at Ajax and is a specialist in this position. However, he has been moulded into a right-back by Arteta. His pace, physical strength, and composure on the ball have allowed him to thrive in the Premier League without much difficulty.
The North Londoners will be hoping that the 24-year-old will be able to help his side win the Premier League or the Champions League by continuing to showcase his best this season.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have signed eight new players by spending big money this summer. So, Arteta has depth in almost every department to challenge on all fronts this season.