BUDAPEST — Mikel Arteta has delivered the ultimate pre-match selection bombshell ahead of the biggest game in Arsenal’s modern history, confirming that defender Jurrien Timber is fully fit and available to start Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The 24-year-old Dutch international has endured an agonizing two-month spell on the sidelines, missing the last 14 matches for the newly-crowned Premier League champions after suffering a severe groin injury in March.
However, speaking at his pre-match press conference at the Puskás Aréna on Friday evening, Arteta put an end to weeks of speculation regarding Timber’s fitness. When asked directly if the versatile defender was healthy enough to make a dramatic return to the starting XI, Arteta smiled and gave a definitive answer:
“Yeah, he’s fit, yeah,” Arteta confirmed. “I look around, and I see the joy and the desire they all have to play this game. It gives me a great headache.”
The Road Back to Budapest
Timber’s recovery is an extraordinary boost for the Gunners, who are aiming to lift their first-ever European Cup exactly 20 years after their heartbreaking defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 final.
The defender’s race against time took a massive step forward earlier in the week when he was named in the Netherlands’ 26-man squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. While he was left out of the matchday squad for Arsenal’s final-day Premier League victory over Crystal Palace last Sunday, Timber has trained fully over the last 48 hours and joined the flight to Hungary.
His availability reshapes the tactical landscape for Arteta, who is looking to halt a dangerous, free-scoring PSG side under Luis Enrique.
Arsenal Team News: A Near-Flawless Bill of Health
Timber isn’t the only Arsenal star giving the medical staff a reason to celebrate on the eve of the final. Arteta also cleared winger Noni Madueke to feature. Madueke had sparked major injury fears after hobbling off the Selhurst Park pitch with a suspected hamstring problem last weekend, but he has recovered rapidly.
