Former Arsenal defender Lauren hailed the performances of Jurrien Timber so far this season and labelled the Dutchman as ‘one of the very best’.
The Gunners spent a little under £40m to sign Timber from Ajax in 2023, although his first season in north London was marred by a serious knee injury, which meant he played just three games.
But the Netherlands international bounced back superbly last season,making 48 appearances in all competitions last season and establishing himself as a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Timber has been one of Arsenal’s standout performers so far this campaign as well, starting all 11 of Arsenal’s Premier League games and cementing his place as Arteta’s first-choice right-back ahead of Ben White.
Only last month, Gary Neville suggested that Timber may be the best full-back in the English top-flight, and former Gunners defender Lauren was equally full of praise for the 24-year-old.
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‘First of all, I was with the club three years ago in the USA and I met all the squad and I met Timber. This guy came from a very bad injury,’ he told Metro via FIRST.com.
‘First of all, he has proved his mental strength in order to get back to the highest level. He’s come from the shadow and then perform the way he did.
‘Secondly, in the pitch he’s been absolutely brilliant, especially in bringing the ball out from the back. We are at Arsenal, we know how to be good getting the ball from the back and start to play.’
Lauren continued: ‘Also, he gets to the position in the middle of the park, and high up front next to Bukayo Saka.
‘Sometimes we see a connection between players in the game. The two fullbacks, the people up there on the side, they have to have that kind of connection. I believe that the connection between Timber and Saka has been absolutely brilliant.
‘It always open the spaces on the right-hand flank. If Bukayo comes inside, he can go outside. If Bukayo is outside, he can pop inside to be an extra men next to the people in the left. He’s been absolutely brilliant and one of the very best.
‘The boy has been brilliant. And there’s more to come. He’s young, so we’ve got a fullback for a long, very long time, that’s for sure. First of all, for his mentality. And secondly, on the footballing way, he’s been absolutely brilliant.’
Despite an injury scare over the international break, Timber is expected to start on Sunday in the North london derby with Tottenham.
The Gunners will be looking to get back to winning ways after their draw with Sunderland prior to the break, and Lauren challenged his former side to be more focused to ensure they don’t let another result slip late on.
‘I think we have to focus our attention on ourselves. We have to think about ourselves. When you think big about your own team, then you can perform well,’ he said.
‘We have to avoid those types of games, as we saw against Sunderland. I know that Sunderland is the revelation of the season, because they’ve been outstanding since the beginning of the League. But the fact that you are winning the game 2-1 away from home, those are the types of games you have to see out.
‘So we have to deal better than we did against Sunderland. So thinking about ourselves and going game by game, this is the way that we can achieve our goal, which is to win the league at the end of the season.’
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