After 255 days, over 6,000 hours and more than 360,000 minutes later, Jurrien Timber is back in action for Arsenal.
This was not how the Dutchman's debut campaign was supposed to go. After his £38m move from Ajax, great things were hoped of for a young versatile defender who was set to add so much to this Arsenal team.
Timber had starred in pre-season, whether it was at right-back or at left-back, notably handed a 7/10 match rating by the Evening Standard for a stand-out display in the club's Community Shield victory.
However, on his Premier League debut, the defender sustained a horrific injury that would rule him out until now, the back end of April.
The 22-year-old was fielded on the left-hand side of defence on that occasion and having looked comfortable against Nottingham Forest, was forced to be withdrawn after just 50 minutes. The prognosis wasn't great; an ACL injury.
He has been back on the grass at Colney for the last month or so and was handed his first minutes back in Arsenal colours for the U21s on Monday evening.
How Jurrien Timber played for Arsenal U21s
Having not seen much of the Netherlands international in action for their new club before his injury, there was a sense of intrigue among supporters as Timber was named among the starting XI to face Blackburn U21s on Monday night.
The final score ended 2-2 with TImber more than catching the eye. Fielded as an inverted left-back, the position Mikel Arteta no doubt has high hopes for him in, he shone immediately.
The clock hadn't even reached ten minutes before the 2023 signing made his mark in emphatic fashion.
Timber picked up the ball to the left-hand side of the penalty area before spinning the defender and unleashing a tremendous strike from the edge of the box into the far corner. It was proper postage stamp.
Arteta will no doubt have been delighted to see him make such an impact, with Arsenal youth expert, Jeorge Bird, describing the player's performance in more detail.
He said on social media: "Timber started the game excellently and immediately gave the U21s an extra dimension as an inverted left-back. He also provided an attacking threat and scored a superb goal. Didn’t have too much to do defensively. Seemed to inevitably tire as the half wore on."
So, when will we see him back in the senior side? It's been suggested that Arsenal want him in the squad for the Bournemouth game on 4th May.
What Timber's return means for Arsenal
The Gunners haven't had too many weaknesses this season. Indeed, they've scored goals in abundance, notably knocking six past West Ham and Sheffield United, and five past Burnley just a few months ago.
They also boast statistically the best defence in Europe. No side in the continent's top five leagues has a better expected goals against (xGA) tally than Arsenal in 2023/24 with their record of 26.57 sitting top of the tree. For context, unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen sit in second with a record of 27.09.
While that is incredibly impressive, it's made all the more striking when you consider the problems they've had at left-back in Timber's absence.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has had his own demons with injury while Jakub Kiwior has endured a topsy-turvy campaign. At one stage in 2024 he looked like first choice on the left, that was until Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced him at half-time in the first leg of their Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.
Zinchenko may well have been the no.1 pick for that role last season but his performances this term mean that he could well be running scared now Timber is back in action.
The Ukrainian offers Arsenal a great deal in the build-up phases of play. There are few better players on the planet capable of playing the inverted role as well as he. However, that should not detract from the fact that the £32m man is a liability at the back.
One Arsenal writer, Oli Price Bates, even went as far as to describe him as "appalling" after his mistakes against Aston Villa cost Arsenal dearly.
As the Athletic's James McNicholas put it so well after that game; 'In a season in which Arteta has worked so hard to eliminate on-field jeopardy, Zinchenko is beginning to feel like a relic of last season’s more chaotic team.'
Timber, therefore, could be the man to restore calm to the left side of Arsenal's backline. The likes of Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel all bring that to the team in abundance but their Dutch summer signing is the missing puzzle piece. Providing Arsenal can remain in the title race he could well still have a decisive say on where the Premier League trophy ends up come May.
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