00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hello, welcome to another episode
00:05 of the Chris Wheatley Show,
00:06 Shots TV's one-stop shop to keep you in the know
00:09 on all things Arsenal.
00:10 I'm your host, Jason Jones,
00:12 and I'm joined as always by Chris Wheatley.
00:14 This week, we'll be talking Urien Timbers'
00:16 potential return from injury.
00:18 We'll be looking at possible transfer alternatives
00:20 for the Gunners this January.
00:21 And as always, we'll be putting your listener questions
00:23 to Chris as well.
00:25 So without further ado, Chris,
00:27 continue to get through on this Monday morning.
00:29 We'll start with some, well, potentially good news
00:32 for the Gunners.
00:33 Urien Timber, obviously we know he picked up
00:34 that horrendous knee injury on the opening weekend
00:37 of the Premier League season,
00:38 but it seems as if he's potentially
00:42 sort of moving towards full fitness again.
00:44 - Yeah, some really big news for Urien Timber,
00:48 as you said, Jason.
00:49 I think a lot of Arsenal fans
00:51 have been waiting to see him play.
00:53 He's only played one game for the club.
00:54 It was that opening game of the season
00:56 against Nottingham Forest,
00:58 where he suffered that unfortunate ACL injury.
01:01 And he's been out since,
01:02 but now the signs are positive.
01:05 He is now back in doing light ball work in Dubai
01:09 on Arsenal's winter training camp.
01:12 And I don't know about you, Jason,
01:14 I wouldn't mind a winter training camp in Dubai right now.
01:17 Minus one here in the UK, absolutely freezing,
01:20 but the Arsenal players are certainly enjoying themselves
01:23 while also preparing for that Crystal Palace game
01:27 coming up on January the 20th.
01:29 So Urien Timber, good news for him.
01:32 Great to see him almost back.
01:35 There's still a long road to recovery.
01:38 Still needs to get back to full fitness, of course,
01:41 but it's a big step that he's now doing light ball work.
01:44 And I think Mikel Arteta will be hoping
01:47 to get him back sooner rather than later.
01:50 - I mean, it almost feels like an unusually speedy recovery.
01:54 We see that sort of injury all the time
01:57 and it tends to be a season ender,
02:00 even if it does happen so early in the season.
02:02 I mean, this is, like you say,
02:04 he has still got quite a long way to go
02:05 before he's back in the first team,
02:07 but it's quite remarkable how well he is recovering.
02:10 - It is, I think that's testament to the medical staff
02:15 and also, of course, Timber himself
02:17 being able to go through his rehab at such a fairly fast speed.
02:24 And I think when you look at Arsenal as well,
02:27 their position, the right back position,
02:29 I think it's maybe an area
02:30 where they've struggled a little bit this season
02:32 because Ben White has played there at times.
02:35 They don't really have a very strong backup
02:39 in Cedric Suarez.
02:40 I don't think he's maybe that world-class right back
02:44 that can come in for Ben White.
02:47 But Jürgen Timber is the man, really,
02:50 that I think Arsenal fans have been waiting to see
02:52 for a long time.
02:53 So, yeah, it is really good that he's on his way back.
02:57 Of course, Arsenal don't want to rush him, though,
03:00 and they don't want the fans to think
03:02 that he's going to be rushed back.
03:03 So I do think it's just a case now
03:07 of waiting for him to be back in the first team.
03:10 And I'm sure that Arsenal have got
03:12 maybe a few exhibition games,
03:14 or Premier games planned for him
03:16 before he does come back into that first team forward.
03:18 - Like you say, we obviously haven't seen a great deal of him
03:22 in an Arsenal shirt.
03:23 He played in the Community Shield.
03:25 He played part of that game on the opening weekend.
03:27 But what we have seen in an Arsenal shirt is,
03:31 it looked largely positive.
03:32 He looked as if he could be a player
03:34 who really could come in
03:35 and potentially make that right back spot his own this season.
03:38 - Yeah, absolutely.
03:41 I think he is a really talented player.
03:43 Arsenal paid fairly big money for him from Ajax.
03:46 He's a player as well who can really offer a lot
03:51 in the attacking sense.
03:52 But I think defensively, he's very solid as well.
03:55 We know there was quite a few clubs
03:56 after his signature in the summer.
03:58 Man United was certainly one of those.
04:00 So yeah, he's a player that a lot of clubs
04:03 were looking at last summer.
04:05 And I think Arsenal managed to win the race
04:08 for his signature because of Mikael Arteta.
04:10 And that is certainly one of the reasons
04:14 why Arteta is desperate to see him back.
04:16 So yeah, it is good news.
04:18 Of course, I didn't mention Takahiro Tomiyasu there
04:22 as Arsenal's potential right back option.
04:25 Yeah, maybe easy to forget about Tomiyasu
04:28 because he was a regular starter last season,
04:31 but he's kind of fallen to the wayside recently.
04:35 But that Yuri and Timba injury actually opened up
04:37 a bit of potential game time for him.
04:40 So yeah, Tomiyasu is currently away, of course,
04:42 with Japan at the Asian Cup.
04:44 But I do think that Arsenal,
04:46 Arsenal's first choice right back
04:49 is gonna be Yuri and Timba.
04:50 But Tomiyasu, of course, is certainly
04:53 not a bad replacement to have.
04:54 And then Cedric as well, as we mentioned,
04:56 is also an option.
04:58 - You mentioned Takahiro Tomiyasu,
05:02 who obviously is away at the Asian Cup.
05:04 AFCon is happening right now as well.
05:07 Mohamed Elneny, obviously away with Egypt.
05:10 Two players who, like you say, Chris,
05:12 potentially haven't had the greatest impacts
05:15 on the first team so far this season,
05:16 but two players who Arsenal fans
05:18 will likely be keeping an eye on this one.
05:20 - Yeah, I think I wouldn't be doing them a disservice
05:25 by saying Mohamed Elneny in particular
05:27 is probably considered a utility player at Arsenal,
05:30 more of a squad player who offers a lot off the pitch.
05:34 He's a good player as well.
05:36 He's a good passer of the ball,
05:37 but I think he's not obviously
05:39 a regular starter at the club.
05:41 Elneny played 78 minutes against Mozambique
05:46 in that 2-2 draw with Egypt,
05:48 and I think it is good for him
05:51 because he needs to get minutes.
05:53 He's someone who's doing his coaching badges at the moment.
05:56 He's got a lot off the pitch.
05:57 He's started his own football club as well.
06:00 Really good guy, Mohamed Elneny,
06:03 and I think he's a player that Nicole Arteta really values.
06:06 Of course, they play together,
06:08 Nicole Arteta and Elneny,
06:10 so they know each other very well.
06:12 And yeah, he offers those leadership qualities,
06:14 but Tomiyasu, I think he's had a bit more game time this season
06:18 than Elneny, of course.
06:20 And then we have Takahiro Tomiyasu,
06:22 as you mentioned, Jason,
06:23 4-2 win over Vietnam.
06:27 And Tomiyasu didn't play,
06:29 which is maybe a concern,
06:31 perhaps about his fitness levels.
06:33 We don't know exactly where he stands at the moment,
06:37 but he didn't play at all,
06:38 wasn't in the team or on the bench.
06:41 So yeah, it does beg the question
06:44 whether he was being rested
06:46 or whether he's maybe carrying a slight knock
06:48 and Arsenal have told Japan not to risk him.
06:52 So yeah, Tomiyasu is away,
06:56 Elneny away as well,
06:57 but there are of course other teams in the Premier League
07:00 who have got a lot more players away
07:02 at these tournaments than Arsenal.
07:04 (upbeat music)
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