‘I did talk’: £40m player admits he's been talking to Jurrien Timber recently after links with Arsenal

After essentially missing his first season at Arsenal owing to injury, Jurrien Timber has been vital for Mikel Arteta this term.

With Ben White back fit and available, some Arsenal fans might have expected to see the Englishman start ahead of Timber against Real Madrid.

However, Timber is arguably up there with William Saliba now in being an indispensable starter for Arteta – White is going to have to work hard to win his spot back.

Of course, Timber is very versatile and can also play in the middle or on the left, but given that Myles Lewis-Skelly is excelling for Arsenal, there’s little need to shift the Dutchman to the other side.

But with next season in mind, there could be considerable change for Arteta on the left side of his defence.

Arsenal target Jorrel Hato has been speaking to Jurrien Timber

Kieran Tierney is returning to Celtic, Jakub Kiwior wants to leave Arsenal and Oleksandr Zinchenko also looks destined to find a new challenge too.

Therefore, Arsenal are interested in Jorrel Hato, an Ajax defender who is showing a lot of similarities to Timber in truth.

19-year-old Hato originally started as left centre-back after graduating to the first team at a young age, but the defender is now playing as a full-back predominantly. 

And when speaking in a recent interview with Dutch outlet VI, Hato admitted that he’s still in touch with Timber, a ‘role model’ who of course used to play for Ajax himself.

Speaking in the interview, Hato said: “I think I’ve improved a lot this season, especially at left-back. Last season I played a lot as a center-back, but this season I’m just a left-back.

“Yes, I did talk to Jurrien about that [position change]. He made his debut as a full-back and left as a central defender. And now at Arsenal, he plays everywhere in the back! He’s definitely a role model for me.”

Jorrel Hato can replace three players at Arsenal

All considered, it does seem as if a move for Hato would be an excellent idea – Ajax have an incredible academy and the youngster can definitely follow in Timber’s footsteps in north London.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Hato’s arrival would be enough to replace all three of Tierney, Kiwior and Zinchenko.

Arsenal also have Riccardo Calafiori and Lewis-Skelly as mentioned for their left, as well as Timber.

And it shouldn’t be forgotten that Takehiro Tomiyasu will soon be hoping to return to fitness too, a forgotten Arsenal name at this point owing to his terrible luck with injuries.

It’s a big summer ahead for Andrea Berta and his team, and whilst Arsenal seriously want a striker, there’s several other areas of the squad that needs attention too.