Arsenal picked up a 2-1 victory over Fulham, but that came at a cost.
The Gunners are all but out of the Premier League title race, but they still have to keep believing and getting results until it becomes mathematically impossible.
That’s exactly what they did on Tuesday night. Goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka sealed the win for the hosts, who have reduced the gap at the top of the table to nine points ahead of the Merseyside Derby.
In what is bad news, however, two Arsenal players hobbled off the pitch due to injuries – Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber.
Mikel Arteta explains why Jurrien Timber started for Arsenal even though he wasn’t fully fit
Timber has been one of Arsenal’s unsung heroes this season.
The Dutch international missed almost all of the last campaign due to a serious knee injury, and many people expected him to take some time before reaching his highest level this term.
However, Timber has been unbelievable from day one, and he is now the Gunners’ undisputed first-choice right-back.
Against Fulham on Tuesday night, Timber hurt himself in the first half, but after receiving treatment, he carried on. Later on in the game, the defender went down again and had to be replaced.
In his press conference after the game, Arteta confirmed that Timber will have to undergo tests to find out the extent of his injury.
However, in his interview on Sky Sports, Arteta admitted that Timber actually had a few problems the day before the game, but he still had to start because Ben White also suffered an injury.
The Arsenal manager said: “He was struggling earlier. Yesterday (Monday) as well, he was not at his best, but we lost Ben as well the day before.
“So, he made a big effort to try to play and he could not continue.”
Who could replace Jurrien Timber at Arsenal if his injury is serious?
Injuries have ruined Arsenal’s season.
The Gunners haven’t had a fully fit squad at any point in the entire campaign, and Arteta has been losing one key player after another to injuries.
Losing Timber would be a massive blow, especially with the game against Real Madrid in the Champions League less than a week away.
White would be the obvious replacement if he returns from his own knee issue, but if the Englishman can’t make it, Arteta will have to turn to Thomas Partey to play at right-back.
The Ghanaian facing Vinicius Jr is not a sight Arsenal fans will want to see at the Emirates next Tuesday.
