Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has admitted that each game in the Premier League is more exhausting compared to his time in the Netherlands with Dutch giants while the pressure to win every fixture remains the same.
Timber joined Arsenal last year but he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him out for the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign.
The defender had a proper pre-season with the Gunners in the summer and is now a key member of the first-team squad in the ongoing season.
He started at left-back in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Tottenham and produced a solid performance in the first north London derby of career as a Gunners player.
Timber came out of the Ajax academy and was part of similar fiery derbies between the Dutch giants and Feyenoord in the Netherlands as well.
Jurrien Timber admits the pressure is same at Arsenal as it was at Ajax but….
Timber conceded that the pressure to win at Arsenal is as big as when he was at Ajax as both teams go into every game with the expectation of picking up all three points.
However, he insisted that playing in England for Arsenal is more demanding physically and he feels exhausted at the end of each game because of the higher intensity.
But he did admit that beating Tottenham on their home turf was sweet despite how physically exhausting the game was on Sunday.
“It’s a bit the same”, Timber told Viaplay (via Voetbal Primeur)
“Every match here is so important. It’s the same at Ajax.
“Only here you’re completely exhausted after every match, but it felt a bit better today to win here.”
Timber is a versatile defender and Mikel Arteta is hoping that he is over his injury issues as he plans to use him extensively in various roles this season.
The defender is expected to be in the starting eleven when Arsenal travel to Italy to take on Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday night.
