Former West Ham captain Nigel Reo-Coker has warned Arsenal against starting Jurrien Timber in the Champions League final given the defender’s lack of fitness.
Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal as Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate to secure their place in the final for only the second time in the club’s history on Tuesday night.
The Gunners – who drew 1-1 in the sides’ first leg in Madrid – will face off against one of Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in this year’s showpiece, held at Budapest’s Puskas Arena on May 30.
Two decades on from Arsenal’s crushing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the 2006 final, Mikel Arteta’s men will be hoping for an altogether different outcome when they take to the field in the Hungarian capital.
There were wild celebrations inside the Emirates as Arsenal’s hopes of a historic double remained intact, with the north Londoners back in the driving seat in the Premier League following Manchester City’s slip-up at Everton 24 hours earlier.
‘It’s an incredible night. We made history again together. I cannot be happier and prouder of everyone involved in this football club,’ Arteta told reporters shortly after the final whistle.
‘The manner that we got to see outside the stadium was special and unique.
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‘The atmosphere that our supporters created, the energy, the way they lived every ball with us, it made it special and unique. I never felt that in the stadium.
‘We knew how much it meant to everybody. We put everything in, the boys did an incredible job.
‘After 20 years and for the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.’
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The Spaniard singled out Viktor Gyokeres for special praise, with the Swede producing arguably his most important performance yet since signing for Arsenal last summer.
‘He was immense,’ Arteta said of Gyokeres’ showing.
‘You can see the reaction from the crowd every time he had the ball, his work-rate and what he’s giving the team is just incredible.’
There had been some hopes that Timber could – at the very least – make the bench for Arsenal’s semi-final second leg following a month-and-a-half long layoff.
But while Arteta confirmed that Timber had been ‘doing some stuff on the pitch’ prior to last week’s 1-1 draw at the Metropolitano, there was still no place for the Dutchman in the Gunners’ matchday squad on Tuesday evening.
Ben White therefore held onto his place in Arteta’s XI for a fourth game in succession – and Reo-Coker thinks the Arsenal boss would be wise to do the same again in the final later this month.
‘That’s a big call. He [Timber] been out for so long… are you going to put him straight in a Champions League final?’ the ex-West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder said on CBS Sports.
‘Right about now, for players who are fit and playing with rhythm, I don’t think you can put Timber in now, with how long he’s been out for. I don’t think you could.
‘He’s the best right-back in the Premier League, I’m not disputing the quality that he has.
‘But now when you get to a Champions League final, you talk about momentum, fitness, players out there… it’s a big call that if he’s fit and available to put him in a Champions League final without playing games before.’
Reo-Coker’s CBS Sports colleague, Troy Deeney, took an altogether different view on the matter, though, insisting Timber must start on May 30, even if the Netherlands international has not returned to peak fitness.
‘That’s wild,’ Deeney said of Reo-Coker’s suggestion.
‘Yes [Timber should start] because he is their best player. You want your best players playing in the biggest games, that’s it.
Will Arsenal win this year’s Champions League?
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Yes
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No
‘Remember Ben White got his backside handed to him against Sporting, got dropped and they put Cristhian Mosquera in. Mosquera got his backside handed to him, he got dropped.
The former Watford striker continued: ‘All they’ve been doing is keep changing the two. Timber is the number one.
‘Do you know the one thing that tilts it in Timber’s favour? The Carabao Cup final.
‘Arteta put Kepa Arrizabalaga in over David Raya. You try to be loyal and all of that but this is about getting the job done.
‘If he gets injured in the game, you take him off and you bring Ben White or Mosquera in.’
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