Jurrien Timber was substituted after he felt a slight muscular issue during Arsenal’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain, Mikel Arteta confirmed.
Timber excelled on the right side of defence as Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead at the Emirates on Tuesday night courtesy of Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
However, the Dutchman was subsequently replaced by Jakub Kiwior at half-time, prompting concerns from Arsenal fans.
Speaking at full-time, Arteta revealed that the substitution was a precautionary measure after the 23-year-old felt a slight muscular issue.
‘He was unbelievable in the first half but he felt something muscular and he wasn’t certain,’ the Spaniard said.
Having spent almost the entirety of last season on the sidelines with a major knee injury, Timber has now started seven of Arsenal’s last eight games in all competitions.
And Arteta recognised that he had no desire to risk the defender given that heavy workload and his injury history.
‘He’s played more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks and we have to manage him.’
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