Arsenal have an irreplaceable star – and he’s giving Arteta a huge problem

Arsenal have an irreplaceable player – and he’s become Arteta’s biggest problem Make us your Google favourite Arsenal are two weeks away from beginning their Premier League title defence and look in a powerful position to go back-to-back in England’s top-flight. Mikel Arteta’s squad has been reinforced thanks to the arrival of the proven Bruno Guimaraes, who should prove an immense upgrade on Christian Norgaard, and the exciting Christos Tzolis, who is capable of bringing fresh impetus in the attacking areas. More players may arrive before the transfer window shuts on 1 September. Rumours are escalating that the Gunners may go back in for PSG’s Bradley Barcola, for instance. But Arsenal are about to realise there is one player in their squad who simply cannot be replaced by going into the transfer market – and the worrying thing is from the standpoint of the North London club is that he faces what could be a prolonged period out. When Arteta was asked about the health of Jurrien Timber after Saturday’s 3-2 friendly loss to Borussia Dortmund, he said the full-back is still “weeks away” from fitness. The 25-year-old saw 55 minutes of action in the Champions League final against PSG, but those are the only minutes he has played since March in what should be a chilling concern for the manager. Why don’t Arsenal sign a replacement? Timber has been struggling for six months now, which would typically be a trigger for a team to move in the transfer market for a replacement. But while Cristhian Mosquera has stepped up impressively, there is simply no other player out there currently like Timber who is available. Based on the Dutchman’s key attributes per data analytics firm SciSports – transition forcing, defensive positioning and dribbling – as well as the quality of player that Arsenal require to be a functioning member of Arteta’s squad, the pool of players who can fill Timber’s role is vanishingly thin. Indeed, SciSports indicates there are only two better than Ben White: Barcelona’s Jules Kounde and Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer . It may be that Arsenal regret not moving for Laimer, who was available as a free agent before he signed a new deal with the German superpower earlier this summer. The 29-year-old Austrian is one of two players of Timber’s profile who is regarded by SciSports as an upgrade – and even then only marginally. While Laimer might have been available earlier this summer, he is now, like Kounde, an unattainable target. How Timber stacks up against comparable right-backs NameClubSciSkillPotentialKonrad LaimerBayern Munich113.4115.7Jules KoundeBarcelona112.8114.9JURRIEN TIMBERArsenal112.6127.4Ben WhiteArsenal111.8111.8Matty CashAston Villa104.3108.3Davide ZappacostaAtalanta102.5102.5 Can Arsenal build their own Jurrien Timber? Even in terms of players who might one day take up that mantle, there are few legitimate prospects who could be targeted as heirs to Timber. Internally, White’s durability is questionable at best while externally, there is a lack of alternatives. Union Saint-Gilloise’s Anan Khalaili and Sporting CP’s Ivan Fresneda are both thought to have similar potential to the former Brighton man, though they do not quite have the ceiling of Timber’s current level. The Dutchman is not quite a unique player, but he’s unquestionably one of the trickiest to replace, which poses a question for Arteta in the short and long term. Timber is weeks from fitness, so at what point does the manager simply accept he may need a different profile at right-back, and what does that mean for the Dutchman’s long-term future at the club?