In his absence, and in spite of the arrivals of Kai Havertz and Declan Rice, a move is needed. More than that, it is a necessity.
However, although Timber has been operating at left-back the recruitment makes more sense to secure a right-sided defender. One with the versatility which Timber also brought, but perhaps it can be afforded they lack the ability to play on the left.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is close to a return to full fitness whilst Jakub Kiwior and the aforementioned Tomiyasu are also available. Kieran Tierney remains an Arsenal player for now, but it is not expected that Timber’s absence will be a cause for an exit to be blocked.
West Ham, Newcastle United and Aston Villa have all been mentioned as having an interest. The Gunners want a sale, and any money secured from the Scot’s exit would surely aid in the freedom to move for a quality defender to aid in replacing Timber.
The Gunners were linked with a number of players prior to Timber’s acquisition and perhaps they will return for one. The two which make the most sense are Mohamed Simakan and Benjamin Henrichs.
Both players represent profiles of versatile defenders and ironically they both start for RB Leipzig and did so in the 3-0 German Super Cup victory which starved Harry Kane of yet another trophy. Having signed Castello Lukeba from Lyon this summer in a £20million-plus deal, Leipzig have already put in place a plan for the loss of a central defensive option.
With the window reaching its latter stage, Leipzig will surely ask for a considerable fee for either player, but this investment need not solely be for the short term for Arsenal. Rob Holding and Tierney are expected to leave in the short term and it is not impossible to see other players in the back line seek exits in search of more guaranteed game time.
Either Simakan or Henrichs would make a strong defensive addition. Players who could play with Timber too, when he eventually returns.
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