Mikel Arteta believes Jurrien Timber is now very close to playing first-team games for Arsenal, with participation in the squad to face Tottenham Hotspur not ruled out.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s north London derby, Mikel Arteta suggested that Arsenal are in a very good place with regards to injuries, with Jurrien Timber effectively the only major doubt for the match.

“Apart from Jurrien [Timber] it’s going to be very close that we are going to have everyone available,” Arteta said.

Even Timber doesn’t seem to be completely ruled out of the Spurs match, with Arteta saying the decision will only be made after the training session on Saturday.

“We are going to have to make that decision [if he can play this weekend] tomorrow after training,” Arteta added. “He is very close.

“I don’t know if it is going to come too early, this one. But he is very close.”

Even if Timber is fit enough to make the squad against Spurs, you’d imagine he won’t play a significant role in the fixture.

This is Arsenal’s biggest remaining game of the season, against a fired-up Spurs side playing at home.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are trying to bounce back from a heavy defeat to Newcastle United, to qualify for the Champions League, and to deny their biggest rivals a shot at the Premier League title.

There are games where you feel relatively safe to reintroduce a long-term injury absentee, and this is unlikely to be one of them.

Timber did impress in an appearance for the Arsenal u21s earlier this week, scoring a fantastic goal in a 45-minute appearance for the side against Blackburn Rovers. But there’s a big difference between that game and this one.

“It’s been eight months, to be honest I stilll don’t really know how to feel,” Timber said after that game.

“Just being out there feels amazing, but even now it feels strange. I feel happy and blessed to be out there and it’s nice to score a goal as well.”

As for the goal, Timber admitted it even took him by surprise.

“I didn’t even realise I was scoring a goal,” Timber said. “I don’t score a lot of goals!

“Maybe that’s changed after my rehab, let’s see. It felt like a reward for the eight months hard work.”