A Dutch journalist has suggested Arsenal might push to stop Jurrien Timber playing in the European Championships this summer.

Jurrien Timber is closing in on a return to action with Arsenal after his ACL injury, with the defender already back in first-team training and edging closer to an on-field comeback.

The Gunners are sure to take things slowly at first, rather than risking re-injury, so we might not even see Timber playing again before the end of the month.

But the expectation is that Timber will be back on the pitch in competitive action before the end of the season.

After that, the Netherlands will feature in Euro 2024, and Timber might still be hoping for a call-up.

Yet Dutch journalist Maarten Wijffels has suggested that Arsenal might not want to let the player go, and head coach Ronald Koeman could probably live without Timber for the tournament.

“If you are Arsenal, and you have already missed a player like that for three quarters of a season, are you eager to say: you go and play that tournament,” Wijffels asked (via Sport Witness).

“Or would you rather keep him at home with a view to the next season?

“I think that the KNVB, and national coach Ronald Koeman, can live with that, given the truckload of central defenders. I would be surprised if he still comes along. But hey, you never know.”

Arsenal are likely to want to keep Timber at London Colney if at all possible, allowing him to continue his return to full strength away from the perils of a major international tournament.

But it would be surprising to see the Gunners pushing Timber to ignore an international call-up for such an event.

These tournaments don’t come around very often, and you’re not going to keep a player happy by refusing to let them attend one.

As Wijffels says, you never know, but you’d think that Timber’s inclusion or absence will be based purely on whether Koeman thinks he’s ready to play a part for the Netherlands.