‘He is going to help us in the midfield for the main time”, Mikel Arteta has fresh £35m midfield option at Arsenal and it’s not Mikel Merino

Mikel Arteta has a new £35 million midfield option at Arsenal, and it’s not Mikel Merino. “He is going to help us in the midfield for the main time,”

Even though it’s only October, Jurrien Timber seems like a solid choice to be Arsenal’s player of the year.

The Dutch international, who missed a year due to an ACL injury, has made up lost time. The 2-2 draw with Manchester City and the victory against Tottenham in the North London Derby have been two of the most notable performances.

However, Timber’s first-half performance in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over PSG was arguably their best to date. Arsenal easily took control of a Champions League match against elite opponents thanks to the 23-year-old’s sublime performance. Regretfully, Timber’s evening concluded sooner than anticipated.

After the game, Mikel Arteta remarked, “He was unbelievable in the first half, but he felt something muscular and he wasn’t sure.” I therefore didn’t want to take any chances. After a year-long absence, he has played a significant amount of minutes—possibly more than we would have preferred in the last few weeks—and we must manage him.

Hopefully, the injury is not too significant for Arsenal. This is especially true considering the club doesn’t have many available right-backs. Due to recent injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori was forced to play right back against PSG for the majority of the second half.

After moving from the left-back position to that one, Timber has performed admirably. The Dutch international has so far excelled in this role, despite not being accustomed to it before to joining Arsenal.

Timber explained his switch from his preferred right-back to left-back at the beginning of the previous season. “It happened in pre-season, before Barcelona in training I played left-back and all of a sudden I was like ‘okay, there’s a chance I’ll play left-back tomorrow,” Timber said. That’s alright, just do what I enjoy and enjoy myself. Playing just makes me happy. Being adaptable and able to play several positions is a positive thing, in my opinion.

But Timber’s adaptability might not stop there. The 23-year-old has already represented Arsenal at both full-back positions, but playing him in midfield has also been suggested as an option.

Arsenal have suffered for numbers in the center of the park recently with Martin Odegaard out with an ankle injury and Mikel Merino having only just recovered from a shoulder problem. Jorginho and Thomas Partey likewise are on the wrong side of 30, and expecting on them to play every three days at the top level is a hefty ask.

Timber has briefly played in midfield during his career and having grown up in the Ajax system he’s surely got the technical ability to play the role. It’s something he’s even stated he would be open to.

“I played midfield at Ajax a couple of times and in the youth but mainly as a centre-back or full-back,” he stated earlier this week. “Of course, wherever [Arteta] wants to play me I will always give my best.”

This may not be something we see in the near future, with Odegaard hopefully returning soon following the most recent international break and Merino back to full fitness. However, over time, Timber’s adaptability might prove to be a great advantage for Arsenal as they seek to contend on several fronts.