Who is Arsenal-bound defender Jurrien Timber?

The 22-year-old - who was also supposedly on the radar of Manchester United - is expected to complete his switch to the Emirates in the coming days after Ajax and Arsenal shook hands on a relatively modest fee.

Timber sent Man United fans into a frenzy when he was spotted at Wembley for their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City, but the versatile defender has been won over by Mikel Arteta's vision, and Gooners have every reason to get excited about the Dutchman's arrival from a quick glance at the statistics.

Here, Sports Mole provides the lowdown on Timber's career so far and what Arsenal fans can expect to see from the 6ft defender over the next five years.

Background

Born in Utrecht into a footballing family - his brothers Quinten Timber and Dylan Timber represent Feyenoord and VVV-Venlo respectively - Timber spent six years in the former's academy before committing his future to Ajax in 2014.

At youth level, Timber quickly forged a reputation as a competent ball-playing defender, becoming Dutch Under-17 champion in 2017 before clinching a league and cup double with the Under-19s two years later.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe, an 18-year-old Timber was handed his first-team debut from the off in a 3-1 win over Heerenveen in March 2020, in what would prove to be Ajax's final game before the season was suspended.

During the behind-closed-doors era, Timber - still in his teenage years - became a mainstay of the Ajax setup, gleaning experience in the Champions League and Europa League and scoring his first goal for the club in a 4-0 win over Emmen in May 2021.

The Dutchman was still alternating between a right-back and central role before his 20th birthday, but he soon nailed down a spot in the heart of Erik ten Hag's backline and starred with three goals and two assists from 30 Eredivisie games in 2021-22, winning his second top-flight title in the process.

Timber's exploits saw him named the Netherlands' Player of the Year for 2022, and while Ajax's fortunes would take a nosedive after Ten Hag's exit for Old Trafford, Timber's rise to prominence showed no signs of slowing down.

Recent form

Despite Ten Hag's inevitable efforts to bring Timber with him to Old Trafford, the 22-year-old stayed put in his homeland and contributed another two goals and two assists from 47 games last term, starting all 34 Eredivisie matches for a faltering Ajax.

Timber did not add to his brimming cabinet of Dutch trophies last season, but he caught the eye with his aggressiveness, anticipation and willingness to invert, seeing him rank as one of the division's best when it comes to passing and possession.

Indeed, Timber's pass completion percentage of 91.6% in the 2022-23 Eredivisie season was better than any other player, and he also topped the charts in overall completed passes with a total of 2,517, nearly 400 clear of teammate and closest challenger Edson Alvarez (2138).

The right-back also made more progressive passes than any other defender with 290, putting him third in the Eredivisie charts behind Orkun Kokcu (370) and Joey Veerman (309), although he only registered one cross into the penalty area all season long.

In addition, Timber ranked higher than all other Dutch top-flight players in terms of touches (3050) and carries (2121), and 2.38 progressive carries per 90 also puts him in the 99th percentile versus his fellow centre-backs.

Other categories in which Timber sits in the 99th percentile include passes into the final third (9.78 per 90), while he also registered 1.72 shot-creating actions per game, and the prospect of the Dutchman and fellow inverted full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko breaking lines week in week out could be a frightening one for opposing defences.

International experience

Timber first earned his national team colours at Under-15 level and has since progressed through various age groups for the Netherlands, even becoming European Under-17 champion in 2018.

The defender played just one game for the Under-21s before he was fast-tracked into the first team by Frank de Boer, and he has since made 15 appearances for the senior Oranje crop in all tournaments.

Timber's senior debut came in a June 2021 friendly draw with Scotland a few days before he also started a 3-0 win over Georgia, and despite his inexperience, the soon-to-be Arsenal man impressed De Boer enough to earn a Euro 2020 call-up.

Timber played three games at the tournament as the Netherlands' run ended in the last 16, while he played every minute in four of their five World Cup 2022 matches, including the full 120 in their fiery quarter-final loss to Argentina.

Since Ronald Koeman's return to the dugout, Timber has found minutes hard to come by and was an unused substitute during their Nations League Finals fixtures with Croatia and Italy, as Oranje slumped to two defeats to labour to fourth place, but the 22-year-old is widely expected to start the new campaign as Arsenal's first-choice right-back.