Arsenal boss must unleash £13m star as replacement for Timber vs Sporting CP

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Jurrien Timber will miss the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Sporting CP on Tuesday due to injury.

Timber picked up an ankle issue during the Gunners’ 2-0 Premier League win over Everton before the international break, forcing him to withdraw from the Netherlands squad for friendlies against Norway and Ecuador.

The 24-year-old has since missed several key fixtures for the club, including the Champions League tie with Bayer Leverkusen, the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City and the FA Cup defeat to Southampton.

With his absence confirmed, the Gunners boss now faces a major decision over his starting line-up for the clash against the Portuguese side.

In previous matches against Manchester City and Southampton, Mikel Arteta has turned to Ben White to fill in at right back, but he has struggled to impress.

White endured a difficult outing against Man City, where he was repeatedly exposed by Jeremy Doku.

His struggles continued in the FA Cup loss to Southampton, where a misjudged header allowed Ross Stewart to open the scoring.

With White’s recent underwhelming performances, the Arsenal boss is under pressure to make changes on the right side of defence and could hand Cristhian Mosquera a start in Lisbon.

Mosquera, who enjoyed an impressive campaign with Valencia CF, joined the Gunners in a £13 million deal plus add-ons during the summer.

Since arriving at the Emirates Stadium, he has made a strong impression with his defensive solidity and versatility.

The 21-year-old has been deployed across multiple positions in defence this season, including at centre-back and right-back.

He has featured 24 times at centre-back and twice at right-back across all competitions.

His potential inclusion in the starting XI could provide the defensive stability Arsenal need in what is expected to be a tense encounter.

Arteta will be hoping for a strong response from his side as they aim to bounce back from two consecutive domestic defeats and secure a positive result.

Stats from Sofascore.

The post Arsenal boss must unleash £13m star as replacement for Timber vs Sporting CP first appeared on ArsenalNews.co.uk.