Perfect Declan Rice replacement emerges for North London Derby as Ajax coach offers fresh insight to Mikel Arteta

A former Ajax scout might have just relieved Mikel Arteta of his woes in midfield ahead of Arsenal’s upcoming North London derby clash.

The Gunners travel to N17 after the international break to play their bitter rivals for the first time in the 2024/25 campaign.

Arsenal will travel with the hope to continue their recent form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having secured back-to-back Premier League wins at the ground.

Arteta will be gunning for a victory after being held to a draw against Brighton on match day three of the league campaign although, a win could be even tougher to achieve as a result of the battle with the Seagulls.

Mikel Arteta told why Jurrien Timber should replace Declan Rice in the North London derby

Declan Rice picked up a controversial red card against Brighton at the Emirates, with his double booking set to earn him a one match suspension.

Unfortunately for the Gunners, the fixture that the midfielder will have to sit out is the North London derby, giving Arteta something to think about heading into the contest.

With Rice out and new signing Mikel Merino injured, the Spaniard is incredibly low on resources in central midfield although, such could be relieved by none other than Jurrien Timber.

There are few players in Arsenal’s squad as versatile as Timber, who is deployable as a centre-back, a fullback and a deep midfielder, as seen during his time at Ajax.

In fact, in a piece with The Athletic, Jasper van Leeuwen, Ajax’s former manager of youth scouting explained exactly why Arteta should be looking at the Dutchman ahead of the clash with Spurs.

Looking back on his time working with Jurrien and his twin, Quinten Timber, van Leeuwen explained the work that went into getting the pair to a state of peak versatility.

“We wanted to nurture them, to make them multifunctional — take them away from only playing central defence and put them in a lot of positions to gain different experiences,” van Leeuwen detailed.

“It’s similar to Matthijs de Ligt, who we asked to play in the midfield for a long time, and that’s why he’s comfortable on the ball. The same happened with Jurrien. He played a lot as a No 6, as a controlling midfielder, and also as a right wing-back, as well as central defence.”

Van Leeuwen’s admission of Timber having experience as playing as a number six should alert Arteta to the multifunctional asset he has at his disposal.

Arsenal have limited options in midfield to take to Tottenham

Aside from a defeat, the last thing that Arteta would have wanted to see against Brighton was Rice being set off, with options very thin in midfield.

Taking Merino’s absence into account, it’s certain that a new-look midfield will come into play against Spurs, with Timber surely needing to be considered as a candidate to occupy the deeper areas.

Already, the Dutchman has featured in central areas, playing the inverted left-back role following his return from spending a year on the sidelines.

Given that Arsenal are blessed for options on the left side of defence, Arteta could now relieve Timber of his duties in the back four momentarily to cover the central midfield in Rice’s absence.

It could well be a stroke of genius from the boss if van Leeuwen’s account is anything to go by, with the former Ajax scout providing a unique insight into Timber’s experience in the position.