Jurrien Timber forced off with knee injury on Arsenal debut
Jurrien Timber was forced out of his Premier League debut for Arsenal with a knee injury which looked like it could keep the new signing out for some time.
The Netherlands international was booked just before half-time for a lunge on Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson and received treatment on the field before the break.
The defender returned for the second half but went down soon afterwards without any contact on him, which looked especially bad for him.
The 22-year-old was helped off the field, not on a stretcher but with assistance from medical staff and was replaced by Takehiro Tomiysasu.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told a post-match press conference: ‘The physio and doctors looked at him and were happy to continue. Straight away in the second he made a movement and it felt funny. We will have to assess him.’
Arsenal get season underway with three points
The game was delayed by half an hour due to problems with Arsenal’s new e-ticketing system at The Emirates, but despite Forest’s Brennan Johnson missing a fabulous early chance, the home side got settled and began to dominate their opening game of the season.
Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring 26 minutes in after fine work from Gabriel Martinelli, then Bukayo Saka curled in a brilliant strike to make it 2-0 six minutes later.
The Gunners appeared to be coasting to victory in the second half, with another debutant in Declan Rice coming close to scoring on more than one occasion, before things got very nervy.
Forest launched a rapid counter-attack after an Arsenal corner led by Anthony Elanga who eventually squared for substitute Taiwo Awoniyi to calmly finish with eight minutes to play.
The remainder of the match was really open as Forest pushed for an unlikely equaliser, but there were no more goals to come and Arsenal got the season underway with three points.
What does this mean for Jurrien Timber?
It is unclear yet how serious Timber’s injury is, but it is likely that he will miss some time. The 22-year-old was signed from Dutch side Ajax in the summer and was expected to be a key part of Arsenal’s defence this season. It is a huge blow for him and for Arsenal if he is out for an extended period of time.
The club will be hoping that the injury is not too serious, as they are already without David Luiz and Pablo Mari due to injury. They will need to find a way to cope without them if they are to have any chance of challenging for a top four finish this season.
Conclusion
Jurrien Timber’s debut for Arsenal ended in disappointment as he was forced off with a knee injury. It is unclear yet how serious the injury is, but it could keep him out for some time. This is a huge blow for Arsenal as they are already without two key defenders in David Luiz and Pablo Mari. They will need to find a way to cope without them if they are to have any chance of challenging for a top four finish this season.