Pepe LeFrits Good shout.

I think he'll most likely play the Rijkaard role (I refuse to call it the Stones role as Guardiola basically copied the Ajax 95 set up) whenever he plays CB

    Need to see how Timber defends, and if it all he can (or is allowed to ) give something different, say overlapping Saka occassionally. However, I've practically done a 180 on this signing. I wasn't comfortable with Edteta taking spending on defence to nearly 200 million, strengthening an area that we're already looking healthy in, and the tactic of deploying CBs out wide. However, hard not to get excited by Timber's comfort in possession and style and what it could do for this team.

      KingslandBarge

      I welcome the increased defensive investment after years of not doing so. Up until Mustafi, did we even break 10m for a defender?

        I was ok with existing investment at the back heading into this summer. Operating on a one-out for one-in basis would have been fine (Cedric and Holding don't count to that rule). I guess it comes down to what one thinks is sufficient depth at the back, and whether one thinks White, Tomiyasu, Kiwior and Tierney offer sufficient quality and relevance as part of that depth, and whether 38 million could be spent in different area of need. I am progressively understanding the play as I see more and more of Timber and the contribution potential.

        Critical look at some aspects of his game that need ironing out.

        16 days later

        Thought he was really good today, out of position against the top side in Europe.

        Pepe LeFrits He looks like the complete package.

        He doesn't look like much of a midfielder. He just looks like a defender who's good on the ball. That's probably what we needed in the context of today's game but in most games where the opponent isn't really competing for territory, that's not really what we need.

        I feel like we need another Zinchenko, but it seems like he's closer to Ben White than Zinchenko.

          Agree with that, when Zinchenko is on form he adds another dimension to our play and control of the game.

          The problem is defensively he is a liability, so in the big games do we try to get on the front foot with Zinchenko and risk being exposed?

          Teta has a headache ahead of him. Saliba, Gab and White are undroppable in current form. Does Zinny slot in or do we ease him in while giving Timber the chance to impress. I thought he was excellent today.

          The one benefit could be offensive coverage. Timber ironically was solid in defense and ok on the offense.

          There's going to be a lot of rotation this season - as Arsenal fans we've never seen anything like it before purely because we've never had this kind of depth.

          Instead of viewing players by their relatively strengths and weaknesses, we almost want to think of them as tools to be used based on the opposition (with the exception of Saka, Odegaard and Saliba).

          In this case - teams that are likely to attack us aggressively? Timber probably starts because he's press resistant and can defend. Otherwise Zinchenko for games when we're on the front foot and need to pick a pass through 10 players.

          He was excellent.

          We started the game on the back foot and were unable to get our foot on the ball at all. His little body feint to make some space and move us forward around the 10 minute mark was the first time in the game one of our players held it for a little while and it moved us up the pitch and I think it ended with Marti winning a corner. The momentum of the game swung a little bit after that and we started gaining more of a foothold and I feel it all started with him showing confidence on the ball and driving forward.

          We have fantastic depth at the back now. We just need to move Tierney and Holding along and use the funds generated from those sales and space created in the wage budget to add an attacker so we have a similar capabilities and depth in the front third of the pitch.

          You can tell why he is the first guy Ten Hag wanted to bring from Ajax even though he just broke through the first team at that time.

          Unbelievably natural dribbling out from the back, great technical abilities and pretty strong 1v1 defender in a position he is unfamiliar with. Coincidentally though it helps a lot when faced with someone like Bernardo who kept wanting to cut back.

          I think you can see him iteratively settling and dialling into the LB role across 3 friendlies. I was questioning his suitability for it the first round but its promising now. Martinelli was very helpful and tracking back for him too. I think we've got a our starting back five momentarily established?

          Just salivating at the array of qualities that have been assembled in our defence and how they'll elevate each other. I have frowned upon Artedu investing so much in this area, and it still may backfire. However, its an awesome defensive cast and not just the oven-ready kind that Man United tend to splash out fo. These players are works-in-progress. Good times shall come.

            KingslandBarge I have frowned upon Artedu investing so much in this area, and it still may backfire

            Why? You don't win league titles without a proper defence. Yes, you need to do the business at the other end, but had we had the depth in defence last season that we do now, we might have been playing Manchester City as league champions yesterday.

            In Timber, we seem to have signed the player we though Tomiyasu was going to be for us last season. For Arteta to have the option to plug him in anywhere across the backline is very exciting indeed.