Jurrien Timber offers Ben White route back to Arsenal and England as new role emerges

TA' QALI, MALTA - OCTOBER 9: Cody Gakpo of Holland celebrates 0-2 with Jurrien Timber of Holland during the World Cup Qualifier match between Malta v Holland at the National Stadium on October 9, 2025 in Ta' Qali Malta (Photo by Roy Lazet/Soccrates/Getty Images) (Image: Roy Lazet/Soccrates/Getty Images)

There can be little debate around how good Jurrien Timber has been at the start of the current season . The Netherlands international has been a worthy winner of the accolade of Arsenal’s best player so far across August, September and into October.

He has scored goals, added defensive security, and combined brilliantly with both Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke in a changing environment while still playing so much football despite undergoing two procedures in the last two years. The Arsenal right-back has arguably risen to among the best in his position globally.

However, he is not playing in the role for his country. Ronald Koeman has a wealth of right-sided options in his squad, with Denzel Dumfries and Jeremie Frimpong both options for the right flank.

Amazingly, he has found a way of using all three, and they all started in the 4-0 win over Malta. Frimpong played more as a right winger, while Dumfries occupied the right back position of the back four.

This pushed Tottenham's Micky van de Ven to the left of the four, with Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk alongside him. Timber occupied what Arsenal fans will know as the William Saliba role on the right side of the central defensive pair, a role he was familiar with from his time at Ajax before he joined Arsenal.

It could be a position that Arteta decides to use when Saliba does indeed need a rest and Cristhian Mosquera, a surprise package to the squad this season, is being utilised elsewhere. This would allow Ben White, another right-back, to come into the fold for the Gunners.

Having suffered from a number of fitness issues, White has been struggling somewhat for exposure. When he has played, he has shown signs of the displays that elevated him to becoming one of the league’s most highly regarded right-backs.

The wealth of talent in the Arsenal squad is just unbelievable to quantify at times and as Arteta returns to action with his side at Fulham next week and then in Europe against Atletico Madrid a few days later, the four competitions the club are in suddenly all become realistic goals to fight for.