Six players who could replace Jurrien Timber for Arsenal against Southampton after injury worry

Jurrien Timber came off at half-time in the clash with PSG in the Champions League. The Dutchman impressed yet again, holding Bradley Barcola comfortably on the Arsenal right-hand side before being forced to exit the match and be replaced by Jakub Kiwior.

Mikel Arteta was asked in his post-match press conference for an update on the player. While not sounding too pessimistic, the full extent of any issue remains a mystery.

“He was unbelievable in the first half but he felt something muscular and he was uncertain and I didn’t want to take any risks,” Arteta said after the game. “He’s been out for a year, he’s played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we wanted in the last few weeks and we have to manage him.”

There is only one more game before the international break which could be used to allow Timber some more recovery time and to manage the load issues after playing so much football since a return to action. football.london therefore takes a look at three players who could replace him for the final league match before the break against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Ben White

Mikel Arteta described Ben White as being in contention for the match with PSG but he missed the last training session before the Tuesday night clash and therefore didn’t make the squad. If indeed he is close it could be that Arteta is able to bring him back into the fold.

White missed the last three matches after a knee issue meant he was unable to start against Manchester City but was forced to come on to help see out the result at the Etihad Stadium. Hopefully, he has been given enough recovery time and can come in to provide a seamless replacement of top quality for the game.

Riccardo Calafiori

Should White not be ready, Arteta may choose to start Saturday’s game the way he ended the fixture with PSG. Kiwior came on to replace Timber but he moved to the left-back role while Riccardo Calafiori was moved to the right side.

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He had already been popping up in these strange positions throughout the game in the first half. He was given freedom in the first half and Arteta spoke highly of his versatility – a clear hint that should he be needed there, he could do the job to a high standard.

“He has the capacity to occupy different spaces, he’s really comfortable with that, he’s already done that in Italy and that’s why we signed him,” Arteta said. “First of all, he’s a great defender, he has this presence and energy and full commitment in the reaction that he does and he’s really brave.

“He doesn’t care in those situations, he wants the ball, he wants to make things happen with it and is happy to play in different roles.”

Thomas Partey

This will not be one popular with supporters because when Gabriel was out of the starting XI at the beginning of the previous season, Ben White and William Saliba were the centre-back partnership in the opening games with Thomas Partey at right-back. This could be something that Arteta tries again.

Mikel Merino’s return to fitness means that he and Declan Rice can occupy the two deeper midfield roles and Partey could move to the right-back slot. It was not a role which went down with fans well although at the time the numbers were looking good as was discussed after the frustrating draw with Fulham.

Beyond these three, youngster Josh Nichols could get the call, although he had some trickier moments against Bolton in the Carabao Cup. On the bench against PSG was also Josh Robinson who is another centre-half type who can also play right-sided full-back should Arteta wish to choose someone else and lastly, depending on fitness, Takehiro Tomiyasu is yet another who could be picked if he passes the relevant checks.