Everyone had forgotten just how good £38m Arsenal player really is and he showed it vs Lille

It’s hard to forget about an Arsenal player when they have been so good in recent years.

The Gunners won the Premier League title after narrowly missing out three seasons in a row, and they also made it to the final of the Champions League last term.

Mikel Arteta’s side are one of the best in the business, but often, many players don’t get the credit they deserve.

One of them was almost forgotten in debates over the last few months, but he reminded everyone just how good he really is against Lille.

Jurrien Timber has had a torrid time due to injuries.

Just this year, the Arsenal defender has missed 155 days of football due to an ankle problem and was even ruled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

During that period, many fans and pundits seemed to forget about Timber. He was never included in debates about the best defenders in the Premier League and Europe.

Now, all those people have been reminded just how good a player the Dutchman really is.

Timber started for Arsenal against Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and he was absolutely incredible for as long as he was on the pitch. He even won the Player of the Match award.

Aside from being solid defensively and working hard in attack, the former Ajax man scored the all-important opener. It was a tremendous strike that showed outrageous skill at first and then elite-level composure with his finish.

His absence due to injury made people forget what an incredible player he is. In fact, we’ll go as far as saying Timber is the best right-back in the world when he’s fully fit.

That was very evident in the win over Lille.

We aren’t just hailing Timber because we love him; the stats back our claim too.

In his 78 minutes on the pitch, the Dutch international had 65 touches of the ball and completed 43 of his 48 attempted passes, maintaining a very impressive 90 per cent passing accuracy. He also registered two key passes, created a big chance and scored a lovely goal from an xG of just 0.07.

Timber also won every one of his ground duels, made three ball recoveries, one interception and wasn’t dribbled past even a single time in the entire game.

Sofascore rated Timber 8.8/10, the second-best on the pitch, just behind Eberechi Eze.