Netherlands' Jurrien Timber decision suggests Arsenal defender won't play vs Southampton

Jurrien Timber's absence from the Netherlands squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures has cast doubt over his status for Arsenal's clash with Southampton on Saturday.

Timber was withdrawn at half-time of Tuesday night's comfortable 2-0 win over PSG in the Champions League, but Mikel Arteta confirmed post-match that his substitution was merely precautionary.

The Dutch international has started the season superbly having recovered from a torn ACL at the end of his debut campaign. He has started Arsenal's previous six games in the Premier League and Champions League, completing 90 minutes in four of them. The boss has spoken about managing the defender's load off the back of a long-term injury, but the level of his performances have made that incredibly hard.

Netherlands' Jurrien Timber decision suggests Arsenal defender won't play vs Southampton

Timber missed Euro 2024 as a result of his lengthy injury layoff, but was involved in the Netherlands' Nations League fixtures last month. The Arsenal defender appeared in both of the games, but started neither.

Given just how well Timber has started the 2024/25 campaign, you'd have expected him to be included in Ronald Koeman's squad for the Oranje's October games, but the defender's latest injury setback may have deterred the Netherlands boss, who undoubtedly would've been in contact with the Gunners in the lead-up to his squad announcement.

Koeman will instead call upon Jeremie Frimpong, Denzel Dumfries, and Lutsharel Geertruida in Timber's absence, while the Arsenal man's twin brother Quinten has also been included.

Timber's omission is good news for Arsenal fans given his workload at the start of the campaign, but it does indicate that he might miss Saturday's game against Southampton. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta said the Dutchman has been training individually in the week but confirmed that he's in contention for the weekend's clash.

Given the nature of the fixture, though, many wouldn't be against Timber enjoying an extended rest. If Ben White or Takehiro Tomiyasu can be called upon, it might be wise for Arteta to give them the nod over Timber. Minutes off the bench should be on the table, mind.

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