Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has been slammed by French outlet L’Equipe following his performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday evening.
The Gunners fell to a marginal 1-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, with Ousmane Dembele scoring the only goal of the game inside the first five minutes. Arsenal thought they’d equalised early in the second half courtesy of a goal from Mikel Merino, but VAR intervened and ruled the goal out for offside.
Mikel Arteta‘s side now have a huge job on their hands if they’re to complete a comeback at the Parc des Princes next Wednesday. A spot in next month’s final in Munich is on the line, which would be Arsenal’s first in the competition since the 2005/06 season.
French outlet L’Equipe are renowned for their post-match player ratings, which can often be extremely brutal. Arsenal players were not exempt following the 1-0 defeat and it was Timber who scored the lowest with a mere score of three.
“The Dutchman had a hell of a time against Kvaratskhelia, who set him up to set up Dembele for the Parisian goal,” the ratings read. “He committed serious fouls on him and could have been penalised for girding him.
“He then let him shoot. He improved after that but was inaccurate [15 balls lost], until he was replaced by Ben White in the 83rd minute.”
The next lowest rating of four was given to Bukayo Saka, Merino and Martin Odegaard, with the latter criticised for his poor set-pieces and being loose in possession. A five was awarded to both centre backs, as well as Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Arteta.
But, it was David Raya, Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly who received the highest rating of six. Although there was little the goalkeeper could do for Dembele’s goal, he was praised for numerous saves against Marquinhos, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue.
Lewis-Skelly’s tirelessness and ability to win his duels was noted by the French media, while Rice’s capability of breaking the lines with his passing range did not go unnoticed.
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