Mikel Arteta will be relieved Jurrien Timber avoided injury as Arsenal ace suffers scare for Holland

Arsenal have had a torrid international break with regard to injuries; therefore, Mikel Arteta will be grateful Jurrien Timber escaped anything serious.

Arsenal have already lost Gabriel Magalhaes to a groin injury after the defender was forced off in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Riccardo Calafiori was forced to return to Arsenal early with a hip issue; however, the Italian international seems to have come back to North London for precautionary reasons.

So when Timber went down during Holland’s clash with Lithuania, Mikel Arteta would have been holding his breath, seeing another key defender in pain.

Photo by ANP via Getty Images

Jurrien Timber avoids injury in action for the Netherlands

Jurrien Timber looks to have avoided an injury while in action for the Netherlands, despite the Arsenal defender taking a heavy blow to the knee.

The 24-year-old was caught by the studs of Edgaras Utkus and was forced to come off for treatment before being sent back into the action.

He ended up playing 64 minutes at right-back during the match and helped his team to keep a clean sheet.

StatTotalMinutes64Touches46Accurate passes33/39 (85%)Recoveries4Aerial duels (won)1 (1)Jurrien Timber’s stats vs Lithuania (Sofascore)

The Netherlands needed a positive result to book their place at the 2026 World Cup, and they did that by winning 4-0 at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Arsenal fans will be keen for the North London club to start being stricter with their players in terms of limiting the number of minutes they are playing for their nations. But during a World Cup year, that is easier said than done.

Timber, who was slammed for his display against Poland, has become a key part of Ronald Koeman’s team and will have been eager to help them secure qualification.