WHEN Arsenal signed Jurrien Timber last summer, the plan was for him to play at right-back.
The club was wary about the workload on Ben White and the belief was Timber would provide competition and cover.
Timber also offered something different in that he could tuck into midfield, just like Oleksandr Zinchenko does from the other flank.
But fast forward a year and it is Zinchenko and not White who Timber has ousted from the team.
The 23-year-old Dutchman has started the past three games at left-back and on Sunday completed 90 minutes for the first time in an Arsenal shirt in their 1-0 win at Tottenham.
Timber was part of a brilliant defensive performance and, after a year out with a knee injury, his display underlined how big a miss he was last season.
He made a combined total of four tackles and interceptions during the derby, with Thomas Partey the only Arsenal player to beat that.
Timber is primed to start Sunday’s showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad and is showing why Arsenal paid Ajax £38.5million to sign him.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 17, 2024 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 17, 2024 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Vamos Rafa! It's time to go for Spain's brave warrior
'Shy and funny' Nadal bows out as sport's ultimate competitor
Does Angeball have a winning future at Spurs?
Head coach divides supporters with his ultra-attacking tactics
The £5bn-a-year tax timebomb that's set to devastate London hospitality
The capital will bear the brunt of Rachel Reeves’s National Insurance raid
Live like a Queen...
...in the house gifted to Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII in 1540 and now onsale for 3.75 million
At home with...Matthew Williamson
The designer’s Belsize Park flatis a grand canvas for his ever-changing colour palette
Hidden London
The first time I made my way to Maison Assouline was with a broken foot, in a tragic boot and crutches.
Jameela Jamil on why New York will always have her heart...
..and her stomach. The actor and activist shares her favourite brunch spot, a secret bar and her brownstone fantasies
My life in bespoke suits
Back in the Eighties, suits were so wide that even the shoulder pads had shoulder pads. Suits back then were boxy, square, and designed to make you look like a quarterback, a bouncer or a tank.
Cher's wild world
The singer's memoir is full of jaw-dropping tales
'I was told I could stay in the UKthen kicked out of my asylum accommodation'
As our appeal hits 1m, we turn the spotlight on an official policy that’s making newly recognised refugees homeless
