Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta abandons ‘Plan A’ in worrying development for summer signing
Mikel Arteta‘s vision for Jurrien Timber has seemingly changed since Arsenal splurged £38million to sign him from Ajax last year.
The versatile Dutchman can play across the back-four and even in midfield, though he was originally brought to the Emirates Stadium to provide competition for Ben White at right-back, according to reports.
Timber tore his crucial ligament on his competitive debut for the Gunners and missed virtually all of his first season in north London. In the time he has been out injured, White has solidified himself as an invaluable starter at right-back, while left-back has developed into a problem area for Arteta.
Timber could see to that, however. The 23-year-old was immense on the left side of defence against Tottenham on Sunday as he kept Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert under lock and key.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s bumper showdown with Manchester City, Arteta will surely be looking to start Timber at the Etihad Stadium. With the former Ajax man excelling on the left, Arteta’s ‘Plan A’ of playing him on the right could effectively be thrown out.
And that’s bad news for summer signing Riccardo Calafiori. The Gunners spent a whopping £42m to sign him from Bologna with a view to either playing him at centre-back or left-back.
Full-back is Calafiori’s most-likely route into the starting line-up, given that Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have developed into one of, if not the best centre-back pairing in world football.
