Late mark: Arsenal initially played Timber on the right side after recovering from injury to force Zinchenko[suchunfei]

Arsenal defender Timber has started the new season well, and the London Evening Standard has revealed that when Arsenal signed Timber last summer, they originally planned to use him in the role of right-back.

At the time, Arsenal were concerned about Ben White's excessive workload and felt that signing Timber would provide them with competition and rotation.

But a year later, it was Zinchenko, not Ben White, who was voted out of the starting lineup by Timber. After nearly a year on the sidelines with a knee injury, Timber's performance demonstrated the severity of his absence last season.

In the North London Derby, Timber made four tackles and interceptions, second only to Thomas.

Timber had been a long-term target for Arsenal, who had shown interest in him in January 2023, six months before signing him. The recruiting team saw him as a versatile player who could play in any defensive position, even as a defensive midfielder, even if the plan was to play him at right-back.

Timber has a different style to any other left-back in the Arsenal team, with Zinchenko at his best in possession, while Kiviol and Fuan provide length in defence. Arsenal signed Timber because they believe he can have a positive impact on the team's ability to keep the ball, not just in their attacking set-up, but also when they try to break down opposition defences. So far this season, Timber has taken the ball into the opponent's penalty area to rank fifth in the team.

Left-back was Arsenal's problem last season and, so far, Timber has proved he can solve it. Carafiori, who was brought in by the Gunners for £42 million this summer, is still struggling to replace him.