Declan Rice, Julian Timber and Mikel Arteta (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted the situation is “difficult” as it is unclear whether the right-back will play again this season due to Julian Timber’s injury.
The Spanish tactician said the Dutch international will be out longer than originally expected and that Timber’s rehabilitation does not seem to be going as smoothly as expected.
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In a significant double update, Arteta also suggested that it is unclear whether either Timber or Mikel Merino will play again for Arsenal this season.
See the Gunners manager’s comments below, as quoted by journalist Simon Collings.
When asked about Timber and Merino, Arteta said:I don’t know, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. If you want to play at all, everything has to be very smooth and quick. ”
Of Timber, he added:That was probably the hardest thing for the players and me to deal with. Because we didn’t expect it to take this long and he’s not fit to play at the moment. ”
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Can Arsenal achieve their best season ever despite suffering from injuries?
Arsenal fans will no doubt be hoping Timber and Merino can still play a role this season as the club approaches a memorable Premier League and Champions League double.
Timber in particular would normally be an automatic starter for the Gunners, even if he played a full role in Ben White’s absence, while Merino is an underrated player who can make an impact off the bench.
Having both available right now would definitely help, especially since the AFC could be at real risk for more injuries after losing key players for much of the season.
Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard have only recently returned, but Kai Havertz missed large parts of the campaign and other big names such as Ebelesi Eze and Gabriel Magalhães were unavailable at times.
Arsenal currently have a bigger squad than before, which is helping, but they cannot afford to suffer any more bad luck in the coming weeks or risk missing out on both big prizes.
