Mikel Arteta revealed that Jurrien Timber was taken off at halftime of Arsenal’s 2-0 win over PSG because he felt “something muscular.”
It was a surprise that the Dutchman wasn’t on the team that came out for the second half, given his recent form and calm performance on Tuesday night against the dangerous Bradley Barcola.
But Arsenal has a busy schedule coming up—they play Southampton on Saturday afternoon, right before the next international break—so they decided not to risk him after halftime, since the home team already had a big lead.
“That guy was unbelievable.” Arteta said after the game. “He felt something in his muscle, and we didn’t want to take any chances.” He has played a lot in the last few weeks, and we need to keep up with it.
Timber’s first season was cut short by a serious knee injury after only 45 minutes. This season, Arteta has used the versatile defender right away, starting him seven times across all categories.
The Arsenal hope that Timber’s problem will be nothing more than a scratch. It comes a day after he became the latest famous football player to speak out against the current football calendar.
Rodri, a midfielder for Manchester City, said earlier this month that players might have to go on strike. Alisson, a goalkeeper for Liverpool who missed 15 games last season because of a hamstring injury, has also voiced his fear.
Rodri has since torn his anterior cruciate ligament, which means he can’t play for the rest of the season.
If I’m being honest, I agree with them 100%. The 23-year-old told reporters before PSG came to town. There is a lot of talk about it in the locker rooms right now, not just at City and Liverpool but also in ours.
“To be honest, I believe it is harmful.” That’s too much: they played twice in two days after our game last week. I can see why the players are upset.
“That’s a great point.” Right now, the players are talking, so please listen to them. Right now, it doesn’t look like things are getting any less busy.
“All we want to do is give our best at every game, but it’s hard when they keep coming and coming.” It’s especially hard in England because they don’t have a winter break.
“First, I didn’t play last season, so I’m just enjoying playing now. You won’t hear me complaining, but I get what they mean.”
Arsenal got their first win in the Champions League this season, which is the first edition of the new tournament, on Tuesday night. As of now, teams have to play eight games in the group stage instead of six like they did last year.
Also, teams that place ninth to 24th in the expanded “league phase” now have to play in an extra two-legged play-off round to try to make it to the round of 16.
Chelsea and Man City will also be playing in the FIFA Club World Cup next summer, which will be held in the USA from June 15 to July 13.