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- Timber signed from Ajax
- Made competitive debut against Forest
- Got injured in less than an hour
WHAT HAPPENED? The Dutch defender was handed a start against Forest in the Gunners' Premier League opener at the Emirates on Saturday after he was signed for £40m ($52m) from Ajax on a five-year deal.
However, the start did not go as planned as he picked up a knock during the first half after he collided with Brennan Johnson, which saw him go into the books as well. Nonetheless, much to the relief of Arsenal fans he walked out of the tunnel and resumed his duties as left-back in the second half.
But just a few minutes after resumption he went to the floor grabbing his calf while he was about to receive a pass with no one around him. Mikel Arteta responded by replacing him with Takehiro Tomiyasu.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: After Timber's injury, Arsenal are running thin on options in defence as Oleksandr Zinchenko is also nursing a calf problem which saw him sit out against Manchester City in the FA Community Shield win. The 22-year-old looked settled on the left playing alongside William Saliba and Ben White while Thomas Partey slotted in as a make-shift right-back. However, the injury should be worrying Arteta as the defender looked in pain while the medics were nursing him on the pith.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Arteta will be hoping that Timber's injury scare is nothing major. However, further tests will be conducted on the player to ascertain the extent of the damage.