Arsenal’s clash was Nottingham Forest was hit with an array of problems with Mikel Arteta being forced into a rethink after summer signing Jurrien Timber lasted just 50 minutes on his Premier League debut before leaving the pitch
Jurrien Timber was forced off the pitch with an injury less than an hour into his Premier League debut for Arsenal.
The Dutchman was named in the starting line-up against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. He initially appeared to pick up a problem after a first-half collision with Reds’ star Brennan Johnson, an incident that saw him booked.
Timber re-emerged after the half-time break but it took just two minutes before he was spotted grabbing his calf and then fell to the floor after passing the ball. The defender, signed from Ajax in the summer, was replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu after being helped from the pitch by medical staff.
TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoist shared his concern for Timber after watching the incident unfold. He said: “That’s worrying. That is worrying.
“I mentioned before half-time that some of the worst injuries you get as a player are when nobody is near you. You hope it’s his calf rather than his knee. That’s not good. From his point of view, I hope it’s the calf.
“I tell you what they will be saying in the dressing room right now: ‘Why did we send him out for the second half?’ But I don’t have doubt that the medical staff would have looked at him and questioned him, made sure he was OK - you’ve got to take the player at face value - but I guarantee they’re all wishing he’d stayed in at half-time.”
Jurrien Timber receives treatment against Nottingham Forest (
Image:
Getty Images)
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Arteta will certainly be hoping for positive news in the immediate aftermath of the game, with Timber having been one of his star signings this summer. The Gunners struck a £38m deal with Dutch side Ajax to sign him - the 22-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year deal in North London.
Arsenal are next back on action next Monday for their first away game of the Premier League season against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Should Timber be absent, then he would add to the Gunners’ growing injury issues in the early weeks of the campaign.
Forward Gabriel Jesus is restricted to the sidelines after undergoing surgery for a knee issue. Meanwhile, the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Folarin Balogun were both missing from the squad to take on Forest on Saturday.
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Those absences did not appear to hamper last season’s runners-up all too much. Despite a slow start, Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring with a clinical finish, whilst fellow academy graduate Bukayo Saka then doubled the lead with a stunning effort from range.
There were however a few problems with the Gunners’ opener. Kick-off for the match was initially delayed by half an hour as fans struggled to gain entry to the stadium.
Arsenal also played the match in the wrong kit after supporters spotted a problem with their new adidas home shirt.
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