Arsenal need 'luck' to beat Chelsea - Jurrien Timber

Cameron Smith

Updated: 8 Nov 2024 08:56 GMT
3 min read

Jurrien Timber, Nicolas Jackson — © IMAGO

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber believes his side will need a "bit of luck" to end their goalscoring drought against Chelsea on Sunday.

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The Gunners have lost their last two games by a 1-0 scoreline, with an Alexander Isak header giving Newcastle United all three points on Saturday before a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty earned a win for Inter Milan on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Arteta’s side have slipped to fifth place in the Premier League table, having picked up just one point in three league matches, and they will travel to Chelsea in a crucial clash on Sunday afternoon.

Enzo Maresca selected his ‘B team’ during Chelsea’s 8-0 rout of Armenian side FC Noah on Thursday, with his first-choice starting XI fully rested for the match at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

The availability of Cole Palmer remains an issue, though, with the England international facing a race against time to be declared fully fit after suffering a knee injury against Manchester United.

However, Arsenal have injury issues of their own and Declan Rice is reportedly set to play with a broken toe.

What has Jurrien Timber said?

Speaking after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Inter at San Siro, the aforementioned Timber admitted the Gunners may need “luck” to score against, and therefore beat, Chelsea.

“It’s very tough,” he told reporters (as per The Mirror). “Very frustrating for us. I think we played a good game, we dominated a lot but we didn’t score.

“In the Champions League, you have to score if you want to win. It’s a tough away game and small moments can decide a game.

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Jurrien Timber

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Jurrien Timber

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Arsenal

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“At the end, we felt confident, we had a couple of tough matches. On Sunday, it will be tough again but I believe in our squad, we have a lot of quality, [we] just need a little bit of luck in scoring more goals.

“I have a lot of trust in our team and we’ll be fine for sure.”