Mikel Arteta responds to criticism as Jurrien Timber suffers injury on league debut

Jurrien Timber endured a nightmare scenario as his Premier League debut lasted just over a half of football before he was withdrawn through injury with Mikel Arteta now giving an update

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists that the Gunners medical team were happy for Jurrien Timber to stay on the pitch shortly before he picked up his injury.

The Dutchman was handed his Premier League debut in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium. He initially looked as though he picked up a problem following a first-half collision with Brennan Johnson

Timber continued after that incident and remained in the side as the Gunners re-emerged after the half-time break. It only took a couple of minutes for a problem to surface again however.

As he received the ball, he clutched his calf and fell to the floor. Timber was then helped from the pitch by medical staff and replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Some were left baffled that the former Ajax man was allowed to continue – particularly after his problem in the opening 45 minutes. Arteta has responded to that criticism by suggesting that half-time checks revealed Timber was fine to continue.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Arsenal boss said: “The physio and docs looked at him [Timber] and were happy to continue. Straight away in the second he made a movement and it felt funny. We will have to assess him.”

Timber’s problem is just the latest in a growing list of problems that the Gunners have been forced to navigate during the opening portion of the season. Forward Gabriel Jesus is restricted to the sidelines after undergoing surgery for a knee issue.

Meanwhile, the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Folarin Balogun were both missing from the squad to take on Forest on Saturday. The absences did not appear to hamper Arsenal too much as they edged past their opponents – goals coming from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka.

The visitors did manage to restore some hope late on through Taiwo Awoniyi, with Arsenal forced to defend stoutly. Arteta had a strong message for his side after seeing them take their foot off the gas.

The Spaniard added: “You cannot give anything. But today we gave them something, a goal and some hope. That cannot happen against teams in the Premier League. This team are so well organised, they are so competitive and physical and they don’t need much to score.”

The kit comes with a shock-yellow base that is complemented by light blue accents that feature on the collars and sleeves. The on-field version of the shirt is constructed with addias’ famed HEAT.RDY technology and is optimized to keep players feeling comfortable.

The replica version of the kit features the AEROREADY technology, which uses sweat wicking or absorbent materials to keep players feeling dry.

Arsenal will hope to continue their winning start in the Premier League in just over a week’s time as they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.