Arsenal has confirmed the signing of Jurrien Timber from AFC Ajax Amsterdam for a reported fee of €41 million plus add-ons. The 22-year-old Dutch defender will don the number 12 jersey recently vacated by William Saliba and will be part of the Arsenal team travelling this weekend to the United States for the MLS Tour.
Having Timber on the team is a massive upgrade because of what he has to offer – in addition to being a world-class center back, he is very adept in right back and defensive midfield, with an excellent passing range and amazingly comfortable with the ball at his feet. He will be competing not only with William Saliba for a starting berth alongside Gabriel, but Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu have to be on their feet, which can only spur these players to be a whole lot better, as you’d expect from real competition.
Head coach, Mikel Arteta, and Sporting Director, Edu Gaspar, as expected, have said some very nice things about their new signing.
Arteta said,
“We’re really excited that Jurrien has joined us. He is a versatile young defender, who will fit into our system and provide our squad with so much added quality.
“Jurrien is a young player, but has already achieved so much. He has experienced what it’s like to go to a major international tournament on more than one occasion, as well as the trophies he has won with Ajax. We look forward to welcoming and integrating Jurrien into the squad.”
Edu said,
“Jurrien is a young talented international player, who fits our vision of competing with a young strong squad. I know Jurrien cannot wait to get started and we’re really hoping that he will be a great success here for many years.”
Timber has confirmed his excitement ahead of his move from Ajax,
“I’m really excited, especially now I’m here. Everyone is so nice and you can see it’s a big club. I’m excited to play for this beautiful club, and I can’t wait to start, and to see the fans obviously in the stadium.”
“I think that I’m lucky to say that I can play as a central defender, as a right full-back, sometimes even on the midfield,” he explained. “I think that’s a good thing and I need to keep that”.
Timber comes in with huge fanfare, winning three competitions with Ajax (two EreDivisie titles and one KVNB Cup) and lots of individual awards for his outstanding performances. The 2021/22 season was a standout campaign for Timber, as he featured in 30 of Ajax’s 34 League games in Erik Ten Hag’s title winning campaign, winning the Ajax Talent of the Year award, alongside the EreDivisie Talent of the Year and Player of the Year awards. In a season where the likes of Sebastien Haller scored 21 goals to help Ajax win the League, Timber’s performances were so good, that the entire League was in unison and alignment that he was clearly the best player. That speaks volumes.
At the age of 22, he already has World Cup experience for the Netherlands, featuring in four of the five World Cup games in Qatar, in the three-pronged defense alongside Nathan Ake and skipper, Virgil van Dijk. Due to his versatility, he can also do the business in right full back if Denzel Dumfries is not available for selection. He was part of the Dutch Youth side that won the Euros Under-17 Championships in 2018, but since making his debut in 2021, he has featured 15 times for this country. The Dutch are in a rebuilding phase after going through a rough spell and Timber is essential to their plans as a nation.
One player set to suffer a setback from the arrival of Timber is Rob Holding, and Arsenal had to hold onto him when Besiktas offered a meager €2.5 million for his services. I’m sure Holding wouldn’t mind to stay on the bench and earn his pay check, playing the occasional Carabao Cup or FA Cup game, but I don’t fancy a player like that leaving England for Turkey, even if the price was right. He strikes me as someone that could go to a mid-table side in the Premier League and strut his stuff.
When Saliba and Tomiyasu got injured last season, having such a quality defender like Timber would have seen Arsenal continue their charge for the Premier League title, as he would have slotted in easily alongside Gabriel, or play at right back to allow Gabriel continue his partnership with White. Unfortunately, we had to use Holding, that put up some shambolic displays and when it was too late, Mikel Arteta summoned Jakub Kiwior to hold the fort, and he excelled in the games he featured, even scoring his first Arsenal goal in the 5-0 thrashing of Wolves.
We are excited to have Timber in our ranks and we wish him the very best in his Arsenal career. We certainly can’t to see him in action for the famous Red and White.
Sayonara
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