Mikel Arteta allayed fears that Jurrien Timber may have suffered another injury setback after leaving the defender out of his matchday squad for Arsenal’s Carabao Cup encounter with Ipswich.
Timber made his first appearance of the season in Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat of Sunderland at the weekend, replacing Ben White at the halfway stage at the Stadium of Light.
The 25-year-old Dutchman has been dealing with a groin problem since March, an injury that forced him to miss the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign this summer.
However, Timber has gradually been working his way back to full match fitness and had been expected to play a part in tonight’s Carabao Cup third-round clash away to Ipswich, if only as a substitute.
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Arteta is keen to take a cautious approach with Timber’s rehabilitation, though, and decided it was best to give the full-back a rest, with the Gunners back in Premier League action versus Brighton on Saturday.
Martin Zubimendi was therefore used as a makeshift right-back in the absence of both White and Timber, with the Spaniard deputising alongside Marli Salmon, Gabriel Magalhaes and Myles Lewis-Skelly in a new-look back-four.
Max Dowman took centre-stage at the start of the first half with a piece of solo brilliance to break the deadlock at Portman Road, before Noni Madueke increased the deficit with a superb finish inside 16 minutes.
The Premier League champions extended the advantage as their hosts toiled in the second period, with Dowman completing a terrific brace in the 47th minute before Mikel Merino made it four on the hour-mark.
When asked if Timber had suffered a setback in his pre-match interview with Sky Sports, Arteta replied: ‘No, everything is fine.
‘He has played much more than we wanted. The other day he had 53 minutes after five months out.
‘We need to look after him.’
On his decision to hand Salmon and Dowman their first starts of the season, the Arsenal boss added: ‘They have already played with us but it’s great to have them.
‘The way they train, the way they have been competing with us as well in pre-season…
‘So I’m really looking forward to watching them.’
Piero Hincapie was another surprising omission for the away team and Arteta hinted that the Ecuadorian was simply suffering with fatigue.
‘With some players, they were carrying some fatigue, some real issues, that we have to look after.
‘There are other players available that are fresh and in a better condition to play.’
More to follow.