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Pundit says £39m Arsenal player is actually much better than many realise
Stewart Robson has made sure to praise Jurrien Timber while discussing Arsenal’s summer signings, insisting that the defender is a better player than many actually realise.
The former Gunners player was speaking on following the club’s first wave of signings in this window.
Kai Havertz was the first to make the move to the Emirates. But he has now been followed by both Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber. Of course, the arrival of both players was expected for some time before Arsenal actually confirmed the deals.
Most of the focus, understandably, has been on Rice’s arrival. The 24-year-old has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best holding midfielders. Meanwhile, he has become the club’s record signing in the process of joining.
Robson backs Timber to be better for Arsenal than some expect
Certainly, Robson believes that the England international could be a game-changer. But the pundit insisted that Timber could prove to be a very underrated signing as he discussed the three additions.
“Timber is a decent centre-back,” he told . “Declan Rice is a magnificent player. He will improve Arsenal by five percent. Kai Havertz, we’d all talked about Arsenal last season not having a big enough squad. I’m not sure Kai Havertz always starts every week when Arsenal first play their opening games. But he’s a player that can certainly cause problems. He’s a good athlete. He can make things happen from midfield, or in front areas.
“But Declan Rice is the player that will make Arsenal a so much better side. He can then allow Odegaard to go and show his quality as a passer, as a scorer of goals, as a creative midfield. I think it’s three very good signings.
“Timber is a better player than people give him credit for.”
There is an element of risk attached to the signing of Timber for up to . He is only 22. And he is arriving from the Eredivisie. The success rate of young players who have come straight from the Netherlands has arguably been mixed.
It is also not yet clear what sort of role Mikel Arteta sees for him. He can play as a right-back or centre-back. And it remains to be seen if Arteta intends to take someone out of the team to give Timber the chance to play regularly.
You would think Ben White would be the obvious choice if Timber is going to start regularly. White was a revelation at right-back last season. But that is not his natural position.
And Arteta may wary of upsetting the partnership of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.
So with a number of questions to answer, it is not entirely surprising that the buzz around Timber is not as great at this point as it is for Rice, or even Kai Havertz.