Preparations are now well underway for Arsenal’s opening Premier League fixture.
Arsenal will welcome Wolves to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Mikel Arteta will know that his side need to get up and running with a good start to the new season.
Arsenal have some tough early fixtures in the Premier League this season, and can’t afford to be slow off the blocks. The margins at the top of the Premier League table are now so fine, that a poor start could cost the North London club their title-winning ambitions before the season has even really hit its straps.
As such, the manager needs to ensure that he gets his team selection right for this weekend’s opener.
Fortunately, he has almost a full complement of players to choose from. However, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu both sat out the most recent pre-season friendly against Lyon.
Arteta provided a timescale for Timber’s return, stating that he would be back in training this week.
Jurrien Timber of Arsenal during a training session at Los Angeles Rams Practice Facility on July 26, 2024 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Jurrien Timber spotted in Arsenal training ahead of Wolves
The latest images taken from the Gunners’ training ground and posted to the club’s website show that the Spanish coach’s statement was accurate.
Timber can be seen taking part in training, will therefore presumably be in contention for selection against Wolves, offering Arteta another welcome option.
Of course, the Dutch defender has plenty of lost time to make up for at the Emirates Stadium, having missed out on almost the entirety of his maiden campaign in North London last time around due to an ACL injury.
Therefore, the former Ajax man will be keen to truly establish himself in the side and start making a positive impression as soon as possible. However, whilst he is once again fit, and has featured in matches recently, Arteta will be aware that Timber still needs to be handled with care.
The 23-year-old cannot be expected to immediately begin starting Premier League games week in, week out. He needs to be eased back into the brutal schedule of English football.
Takehiro Tomiyasu running out of chances
Meanwhile, Tomiyasu remains sidelined. There can be no doubting the Japanese defender’s ability, and his versatility makes him a very useful option for Arteta to have to call upon, when he is fit and available.
However, the former Bologna man has been plagued by injuries since his arrival at Arsenal, and the situation is surely coming close to untenable now, especially with Timber and summer signing Riccardo Calafiori in the frame to push him down the pecking order.
Many Arsenal fans were against Tomiyasu’s new contract, which he was handed last season. Certainly, the decision to extend his deal is becoming harder to justify with each week he spends of the treatment table.
Leave a Reply