Mikel Arteta has defended his decision not to withdraw Jurrien Timber earlier from Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest after the Dutchman picked up a knee injury.
A clash with Brennan Johnson during the first half left Timber limping but he would make it until the 50th minute before ultimately being forced off, with Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu his replacement.
After the game, Arteta was asked whether he should have taken Timber off sooner but insisted the defender was cleared to continue by medical staff.
“The doctors looked at him and they were happy for him to continue, he was as well,” the Arsenal boss stressed.
“Straight away in the first action of the second half he made a movement and it was a bit funny. We took him out straight after and now we have to assess him and see what he has.”
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Tomiyasu came off the bench to replace Timber, with Arteta opting against calling on Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who surprisingly started on the bench.
Arteta confirmed that Gabriel was not injured and was simply left out as a tactical decision.
“Yeah, we expected a game that actually happened and we needed somebody else in midfield to do what we did best, to have more fluidity and occupy certain spaces in relation to how they’re defending,” he said of his choice. “It worked really well.”
One debutant who enjoyed a better first league outing in Arsenal colours was midfielder Declan Rice, who made a real impression on his manager.
“You’ve seen him today, I don’t know if it was after two minutes or after ten, but the way he’s moving, the way he’s coaching and integrating in that dressing room I think he’s enjoying the position,” Arteta explained. “He should have scored probably two goals today. So more of the same. He’s not thinking, he’s just acting and I’m really pleased with what he’s done.”
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