Mikel Arteta said Jurrien Timber is fit to start Arsenal’s Champions League final against Paris St-Germain on Saturday, handing the club a major defensive boost after months without the Dutch defender. Timber has not played since March, when a groin injury in the win over Everton put him on the sidelines.
That update lands at exactly the right time for supporters searching the champions league winners list and trying to work out whether Arsenal can still write their own name into it. The final in Budapest is the only match that matters now, and Timber’s return changes the shape of Arsenal’s back line just as the stakes peak.
Ben White is ruled out with a knee ligament injury, so Arsenal have spent the season patching the right side of defence in different ways. Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice have all deputised there at different points, which makes Timber’s availability more than a nice-to-have. It gives Arteta another natural option for a one-off final, and it comes after Noni Madueke was also available for selection following a hamstring issue that flared last weekend against Crystal Palace.
The task in front of Arsenal is still the hardest one left in Europe. PSG arrive in Budapest as the reigning champions, having beaten Arsenal in the semi-finals of the tournament last year, and they are trying to become only the second side in the Champions League era to win back-to-back titles. Arteta did not hide the scale of the challenge, saying his team are here to take the trophy away from them while insisting the squad has already shown it can compete at this level.
There is a second fight building around the match as well. Budapest police are expecting at least 10,000 ticketless fans in the city, and traffic through Liszt Ferenc International Airport over the weekend is expected to almost double to around 85,000 visitors. It means the final will be played against a backdrop that is already straining under the weight of demand before a ball is kicked.
For Arsenal, the immediate question is no longer whether Timber can play but whether Arteta trusts him to start in a game this big after so long out. The answer will shape a side trying to stop the holders and, for one night in Budapest, change its place in the competition’s history.
