Mikel Arteta has revealed Jurrien Timber is a doubt for Arsenal’s make or break Champions League semi-final second leg trip to Paris Saint-Germain.
Timber missed out on the matchday squad for Saturday’s shock 2-1 defeat by Bournemouth at the Emirates and may not be fit enough to return on Wednesday.
Ben White started in the Dutchman’s place and could keep his spot at the Parc des Princes, where Arteta’s side will look to overturn a 1-0 aggregate deficit.
Asked whether he was confident Timber would be in contention in Paris, Arteta said: ‘No. Confident? At the moment, no.
‘He wasn’t able to play here and we play in four days.’
Pushed on the defender’s exact issue, Arteta cryptically replied: ‘I cannot tell you.’
Mikel Arteta has revealed Arsenal have a fresh injury doubt before their PSG showdown
Jurrien Timber missed the defeat by Bournemouth and Arteta is not confident he will return
The Gunners will look to overturn a 1-0 aggregate deficit at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday
Timber had played 83 minutes of the first leg loss before being replaced by White.
The 23-year-old, who joined the club in a £40million deal in 2023, has made 47 appearances in total this season, scoring two goals and registering four assists.
Arteta will already be without fellow defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Takehiro Tomiyasu in France while Riccardo Calafiori remains sidelined.
Calafiori suffered a knee injury on international duty with Italy in March and was ruled out of Saturday’s defeat, with Arteta refusing to put a timeframe on his recovery.
Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth leaves them in a battle to keep hold of second place in the Premier League – and Arteta urged his players to react against PSG.
Declan Rice put the Gunners into the lead but Bournemouth fought back through second-half goals from Dean Huijsen and Evanilson.
‘We certainly wanted to create a positive vibe, a positive result would have really helped us to build what we wanted towards Wednesday,’ Arteta said.
‘What we have created now is a lot of rage, anger, frustration and a bad feeling in the tummy. So let’s make sure we use that for Wednesday to have a massive performance in Paris, win the game and be in the [Champions League] final.’
