Arsenal have confirmed that both Jurrien Timber and William Saliba will miss their final game of the 2024/25 season on Sunday.
The Gunners travel to Southampton this weekend to round off the campaign, having seen their Champions League run ended by Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month. They already have a lengthy list of absentees, with Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Magalhaes currently sidelined through injury.
Now, both Saliba and Timber have been added to that list following last weekend’s narrow victory over Newcastle United.
Timber was not involved in the matchday squad at Emirates Stadium and it has now been confirmed that he has undergone ankle surgery.
Saliba, meanwhile, was forced off at half-time with a hamstring problem and will also be unavailable for the final game of the season.
Speaking to beIN SPORTS on Wednesday, Mikel Arteta confirmed: “William is going to be out for a few weeks, unfortunately. He pulled his hamstring against Newcastle, so he’s going to be out for a few weeks.
“Jurrien had surgery yesterday on his ankle, so he’ll be out for a few weeks as well.”
Timber got his chance to make an impression this season having spent almost all of last year on the sidelines having suffered a serious knee injury. The blow came during a game against Nottingham Forest early last season.
“With Jurrien, you understand that he was coming back from an ACL one year out, and to have this season after an ACL, it’s incredible,” Arteta added. “We didn’t sign a player, we signed a leader, a very, very special character.”
While no official return dates have been provided for either player, there is optimism that their injuries will not affect pre-season preparations.
As the Gunners aim for silverware in 2025/26, they will embark on a pre-season tour of the Far East with games against AC Milan, Newcastle and Tottenham in Singapore and Hong Kong in late July.
Last week, Arteta was boosted by the return of Kai Havertz, who made his first appearance since February over the weekend. The attacker replaced Bukayo Saka with 15 minutes remaining at the Emirates, providing a timely lift for the manager ahead of the final match at St Mary’s.
“Thank you for all the support the past few months and over the season,” Havertz wrote on the social media platform Instagram after the Newcastle match. “Felt good to be back out there today!”
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