Who will Arsenal sign?
The north Londoners may be in dire need of a stand-in for Timber after the Netherlands defender was forced off during their opening weekend victory over Nottingham Forest.
Timber, who signed from Ajax during the summer to reinforce Mikel Arteta's defensive options, is now no longer an option for the Spaniard - with the 22-year-old ruled out for a long period after an ACL injury.
"It’s a huge blow, especially for him having just joined the club to have the injury that he has is a huge disappointment for him," Arteta said on Timber at a recent media conference.
"It’s true that he was giving us very different things in terms of what we could do on both sides, but again, these things happen, and we have to be prepared for that.
"We are always open and we have to always be open to react if something happens, not only with an injury but with the market as well and that’s what we are doing."
Arsenal face being without Timber for as long as seven months, and because he will miss most of the campaign, the north Londoners may need to dip back into the transfer market for solutions.
Romano, sharing news on the DeBrief podcast, as transcribed by CaughtOffside, has hinted that is a very serious possibility and could do "something smart" in the final days.
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“They’re [Arsenal] discussing about this [replacing Timber] internally,” said the transfer journalist.
“Arsenal are continuing this week to discuss, together with Mikel Arteta, to decide whether they want to sign a player on the market. This is not decided yet but they also have to decide if they want to sign a new centre-back or full-back. We know Timber was covering both positions so they have to decide what kind of player could be the right one.“I think Arsenal will only act if they find a good opportunity. I don’t see them spending crazy money. I think they could do something smart as they always do on the market.”
Sharing further news, Romano says Arsenal were also tracking France international defender Benjamin Pavard to cover Timber.
“Another player being discussed internally was Benjamin Pavard, but he is very close to joining Inter [Milan] at the moment,” he added.
“And I don’t think Arsenal were prepared to spend €30 million on a player who is out of contract next summer. Multiple players are on the table as options, let’s see what is going to happen with the internal discussions in the coming hours and days.”
Who should Arsenal sign?
Ivan Fresneda
Another right-back option in place of Timber could come in the form of Real Valladolid starlet Ivan Fresneda, who has been linked with a move to north London very recently.
Lauded for his "beastly" crossing ability, Fresneda would also come as a fairly cheap option, as reports suggest he could cost a very affordable £6.8m-£8.5m.
The highly-rated defender may well be an astute option for Arteta and co late in the window.
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