Arteta Sees Timber Chance for 27 May Final — Gooners
gooners have a reason to track Jurriën Timber’s recovery now. Mikel Arteta said the Arsenal defender has a chance to be ready for the Champions League final on 27 May, even after a groin setback that has kept him out since 14 March.
Arteta said Timber has “progressed a little bit in the last few days; he’s feeling better,” and added, “We’re going to try to get him available as quickly as possible.” The Arsenal manager also said there is a chance he could face Paris Saint-Germain, but would not say how large that chance is.
Arteta on Timber and PSG
The update gives Arsenal a target at a point in the season when their right side has been stretched. Timber has not played since the win over Everton on 14 March, and he was understood to have been close to returning at the end of last month before another setback slowed the timeline again.
Arteta did not dress up the uncertainty around the final. “There is a chance. But how big that chance is, I cannot tell you. I’m being completely honest. He’s going to try to do everything he can to convert that chance as high as possible in the shortest possible period,” he said. That leaves Arsenal chasing a recovery window measured in weeks, not months, with the final against PSG set for 27 May.
White’s injury changes Arsenal
Ben White’s situation makes Timber’s return more useful. Arsenal said on Tuesday that White would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, and Arteta said he must wait and see regarding the summer. The absence removes one of Arsenal’s established right-back options just as the club is deciding how to cover the final stretch.
Cristhian Mosquera is expected to fill in against Burnley on Monday night, while Riccardo Calafiori is back in training after going off injured last Sunday at West Ham. Calafiori also played at right-back in the second half of Arsenal’s win over PSG in last year’s league stage, giving Arteta another name he can use if Timber does not make the final cut.
Burnley before the final
Arsenal can also restore a five-point lead over Manchester City against Burnley, a league task that sits alongside the bigger question of Timber’s fitness. REDaction is planning to welcome the team coach before the game, after thousands of fans turned out before the Champions League semi-final victory over Atlético Madrid.
Arteta said that support fed into the team before that tie, saying, “It builds an energy connection with them that we haven’t experienced before.” For Arsenal, the immediate test is Burnley; for Timber, it is whether the next few weeks are enough to make 27 May real rather than just possible.
