While they remain 12 points adrift of Liverpool, no team has conceded fewer goals than Arsenal in the Premier League this season. The North Londoners may be without a striker, but Mikel Arteta has built the strongest backline in the country.
Timber has been central to the Spaniard's effort since arriving from Ajax for just an initial £34m in July 2023. Towards the end of the London derby on Sunday afternoon, he exchanged a few words with Enzo Maresca on the touchline.
Before taking a throw-in, the Netherlands international told the Chelsea boss to 'try harder'. After making his point clear, Timber shook hands with Maresca, who walked away from the encounter with a grimace on his face.
Nevertheless, speaking to reporters after the game, Arteta reflected on his team's performance. The Spaniard said: "Yes, very happy obviously with the result, with big parts of that performance. I love the attitude of the team from the beginning, the way we approached it, how aggressive we were with our goal, scored a goal.
"A lot of chances that we didn't put away and then we continue to do a lot of the things defensively so well and the right to attack open spaces and so many situations with huge advantages that we just gave away.
"Then we have to try back 70 metres and on that phase probably we've beaten one of the best teams in the world today because we were unbelievable the way we've done it.
"We have conceded almost nothing apart from that strange save from David, I would say and that's a big credit to the team because in my opinion they are the best attacking team in the league."
Then, on the title race, Arteta added: "We have to win our football matches, that's what it has to be. Win against Fulham and we'll be closer."
0 Comments