Julian Timber will not feature in Arsenal’s match against Brighton, although he was spotted at the Emirates Stadium. After seeing the Dutch defender enter the field, many Arsenal fans expected him to be included in manager Mikel Arteta’s squad for the game. However, when the team sheet was released 75 minutes before kick-off, Timber’s name was nowhere to be found, not even among the substitutes.
“We missed him because he felt something in the last part of the game and couldn’t carry on and was out,” Arteta told Sky Sports News about Timber’s absence. He added: “The whole medical[staff]and the players, they’ve all worked extremely hard and worked extremely hard over the last few weeks to get him in this game.”
Gabriel was named as a substitute for the match after an extended injury absence. The Brazilian has been sidelined since the November international break when he was injured against Senegal at the Emirates.
Addressing the centre-back’s condition in his pre-match press conference earlier this week, Arteta said: “We’ll have to wait and see. He hasn’t trained yet, he’s still rehabbing. But we know the situation at the back and we hope he recovers as soon as possible.”
Piero Hincapie will also return to the starting lineup and will face coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team. The Ecuadorian was thought to be doubtful for the Gunners’ midweek Carabao Cup clash with Crystal Palace after sustaining a shoulder problem during last weekend’s game against Everton, but the North Londoners won in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Here is Arsenal’s full line-up to face Brighton at home in the Premier League…
Starting eleven: David Raya, William Saliba, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafioli, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Victor Göckeres.
Bench: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Gabriel, Gabriel Jesus, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Ethan Nwaneri, Miles Lewis-Skelly.
The match came too early for Kai Havertz to feature. The attacking midfielder has missed most of the campaign so far with a knee problem, and Arteta spoke about his situation earlier this week.
“It’s going to be a matter of days, if not weeks. We’ll see how he reacts to it in the next step. He’s a player that we’ve missed a lot and he’s going to take the team to another level, so I’m really happy to be back so soon.”
Arsenal will be fighting for three points to take back top spot in the Premier League from Manchester City. This comes after Josep Guardiola’s side beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 in an early kick-off on Saturday, putting them one point ahead of the Gunners.
