Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal’s ‘leader’ who is set to return following season ending injury last season

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Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on an Arsenal defender who is set to make his return to the first team during the pre-season tour.

Arsenal have named their 26-man travelling squad for the upcoming pre-season tour of the United States.

The Gunners have been working on a deal to sign Riccardo Calafiori with HITC reporting over the weekend that Arsenal had struck an agreement with Bologna for the signing of the Italian defender.

One key Arsenal defender, in the form of Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, is set to make his long awaited return for the Gunners after a frustrating debut season in North London.

Arteta praises Timber’s mentality as he returns from injury

The Dutchman suffered a horrendous injury during his debut for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest and missed the entirety of the campaign with the Gunners as they missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.

Ahead of Arsenal’s pre-season game against Bournemouth, Arteta was asked about Timber’s availability and the Spaniard was keen to praise the former Ajax defender.

“He is so willing, you can see that in his body language and the way he acts,” Arteta told Arsenal’s website. “He has worked so hard, I think he is in a really good place at the moment.

“We are going to have to manage him now in the next few weeks, especially because the load he has been able to do in the last few months compared to the next two weeks is very different, but we are very excited.

“He is a leader. He loves to be on show and a big presence in everything that we do. He is very vocal and extremely gifted technically. He is a great addition to the team.”

Timber could be key for Arsenal after another defensive injury

The return of Timber could be key for the Gunners and allow Arsenal to rotate their back line to avoid key injury problems.

Arsenal have, however, already suffered a key injury with Japanse defender Takehiro Tomiyasu suffering a blow, with Arteta labelling the injury of the former Bologna defender as ‘unbelievable’.

Timber could well be lining up at left-back due to the injury of the Japanese international and the hope will be that the Gunners will have a brilliant player on their hands.