Jurrien Timber is fit for Arsenal’s Champions League final against PSG, giving Mikel Arteta an almost fully available squad for the biggest European night in the club’s history.
Jurrien Timber is fit for the Champions League final, giving Arsenal their strongest squad of the season before Saturday’s meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mikel Arteta confirmed at his pre-final press conference that Timber is available for the first time since before the League Cup final in March, having recovered from a complex groin injury that took longer than expected to clear.
Noni Madueke, who left the pitch at Selhurst Park with a suspected hamstring strain, has also been cleared to play.
That leaves Ben White, who is out with a knee injury and still in a brace, as Arsenal’s only injured player before the biggest European match in the club’s history. White has, however, travelled with the squad.
“[Jurrien Timber] is fit. [To start?] Yes, and Noni as well. The only one [out] is Ben White.” Arteta said.
Timber’s return gives Arsenal a significant lift before facing PSG, not only because of his quality but because of the flexibility he brings to a defence that has had to absorb repeated injury problems this season.
Arteta admitted his team selection will be difficult, with so many players desperate to be involved in the final.
“It’s because I look around and I see the joy and the desire that all of them have to play this match,” he said. “We all know that it is the biggest game in football, and everybody wants to be part of that. They all understand what it takes and also how important everybody is to make an impact when it’s needed.”
Arsenal go into the final as newly crowned Premier League champions, and Arteta believes lifting the title has sharpened the squad’s appetite rather than satisfied it.
“They want more,” he said. “I think going through those moments brings you a different kind of desire because when you lift it, you know exactly how it feels and you want to reproduce that feeling as many times as possible. Tomorrow we have the opportunity to do that.”
Arteta said he has not been thinking about too many different line-ups, even with greater availability than he had before the Atletico Madrid tie. Even so, he stressed that Arsenal must be prepared for different scenarios once the match begins.
“Not that many but there’s still some time to go through things,” he said when asked how many line-ups he had already considered for the game. “We have a bit more certainty as well with certain players that could be on that pitch, but in relation to the context of the game and what can happen tomorrow, we need to be ready.
“Regarding the [possible] line-ups, there will be far fewer than in [the Atletico Madrid] match. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding four or five players and whether they would be available and for how long. What will happen in the Champions League, it’s very much like that; it’s very tactical. But there’s one key thing, the individual level of the players, and in the end, they’re the ones who decide the matches, and I’m sure tomorrow [Saturday] will be similar.”