Jurrien Timber reacts as Arsenal teammates pay tribute to him after hard-fought Crystal Palace win
Arsenal players had Jurrien Timber on their minds before and after their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace yesterday (August 21).
The Netherlands international arrived at the Emirates from Ajax for £38 million this summer. His league debut, however, did not go to plan as he came off with an injury in the 50th minute of their 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest on August 12.
After the game, the club confirmed that Timber had suffered an ACL injury and it is believed that he will now miss the majority of the season. He had played as a left-back against the Tricky Trees and was replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu in that position against the Eagles.
The Japan international, however, ended up being sent off with 23 minutes left on the clock. But Martin Odegaard's 54th-minute strike from the penalty spot proved to be the difference.
Arsenal's XI held up Timber's shirt for the team photo before kick-off and the entire team posed with his jersey in the dressing room after the win at Selhurst Park. After the game, Jorginho posted a picture of the moment on his Instagram account and captioned it:
"Well done everyone 👏🏻 And thank you for the amazing support as always"
The photo, which can be viewed below, features Odegaard holding Timber's No. 12 kit while being surrounded by Arsenal players.
The former Ajax defender commented:
"🙏🏾❤️"
After Tomiyasu's red card, Mikel Arteta will have Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney as his natural options at left-back. The 26-year-old Scotland international, however, has been left out of both of his team's league games so far this season.
Mikel Arteta pleased with Arsenal's performance against Crystal Palace
Arsenal conceded seven shots from Crystal Palace after being reduced to 10 men at Selhurst Park.
By the time Tomiyasu was sent off for a second yellow card offense, Martin Odegaard's goal had given the Gunners a lead to protect. The Eagles kept almost 75% of the ball after the Japanese full-back received his marching orders.
But they failed to make it count. After the game, Mikel Arteta was asked to give his verdict on the game. He told Sky Sports, via BBC:
"I love to win like this, the way we played the first-half against a team which is so difficult in open play, but we dominated the game and we condeded nothing.
"After scoring the goal there was more spaces, but we had to play with 10 men and we didn't concede with 10 men so I am happy with the team in how they responded in the game."
The Gunners now host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday (August 26).