Why Arsenal have signed Jurrien Timber

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 14 Jul 2023 15:29 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have completed the €40 million signing of Jurrien Timber from Ajax, but why were the Gunners so keen to sign the Dutch defender?

The Gunners were top of the Premier League for 248 days last season before Manchester City came from behind to finish five points clear, and Mikel Arteta is keen to build a squad ready to challenge on more than one front next season.

With Champions League qualification in the bag, the summer rebuild is already taking shape, with Arsenal also poised to sign England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham having already added Germany attacker Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

Timber's acquisition makes sense for a number of reasons, with the Champions League part of the equation.

Timber is a centre-back also comfortable playing on the right - his 90.5 touches on average were an Eredivisie-high last season, and 59 per cent of those came in the middle third, which is high for a nominal defender.

Squad depth needed

Benjamin White may have proved effective in the same role for Arsenal last season, but Kieran Tierney has been assured of his playing time next season despite the presence of fellow left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, so White and Timber have space in the same squad next season.

READ: EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal HIJACKED Timber from Man Utd and Liverpool

Last year the Gunners balanced Premier League and Europa League fixtures, but now they have returned to the Champions League, the chance to play a second string in Europe has gone, and there will be plenty of time for both to play.

Arteta could even play both at the same time. Pep Guardiola, his former mentor at Manchester City, pipped him to glory last season using four centre-backs towards the end of the season, with Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake playing out wide.

It was a tactical innovation that worked, and will now inevitably be copied.

Finally, Manchester United were heavily linked with a move for Timber last season, with Erik ten Hag keen to be reunited with his former Ajax protégé. But as the Red Devils' takeover issues rumble on, there was an opportunity to pounce now.

The €40m initial fee could prove a snip for a 22-year-old valued at €34.7m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, and if he improves at Arsenal the way the likes of White and William Saliba have done, he could be worth twice that amount in double-quick time.