Jurrien Timber has said that he is excited to make his Premier League debut as Arsenal host Nottingham Forest this weekend.
Timber is a new arrival at Arsenal after signing from Ajax in a deal worth up to £38m earlier this summer and the defender impressed as the Gunners beat Manchester City to win the Community Shield on Sunday.
The Netherlands international is in line to feature as Arsenal, who finished as runners-up last season, begin their Premier League campaign against Forest at the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime. Ahead of the clash, Timber expressed his excitement at playing in English football for the first time.
“I’m excited, and curious about the Premier League. I’m also excited to play in the Emirates and at different stadiums,” Timber told the club’s official website.
“I’ve settled in pretty good. The club make it easy and the people here are helping me really, well and my teammate too.
“[Working under Mikel Arteta] has been really good, it’s also been intense! They expect a lot from you at this club which is good, and I think it makes you better. The training makes you better and also your teammates at the competition here, that all is really good.”
Timber believes Arsenal can take confidence from their Community Shield win over Manchester City as the north Londoners look to challenge again this season.
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence. We can compete with them and everyone saw that, against one of the biggest teams in the world, if not the biggest. It doesn’t say everything, but it says a lot.
“The expectations are high, which is good for a club like Arsenal, so let’s aim for the highest possible things and we’ll see at the end of the season where we’re standing.”
