'Madueke Was Screaming!' - Jurriën Timber on His Goal vs Lille

Jurriën Timber has revealed that Noni Madueke was ‘screaming’ at him to shoot before he opened the scoring in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Lille in the Champions League, with the Dutchman named Player of the Match at the Emirates.

The right-back broke the deadlock in the 64th minute after a frustrating first half, latching onto Madueke’s pass before producing a sharp turn and dinking the ball over goalkeeper Berke Özer.

Speaking after the match, Timber explained that he had found plenty of space between the lines after the break, and credited his teammate for spotting his run.

He said, ‘I had some moments already in the first half, but in the second half a lot that I was free in between. Noni saw me, and the first touch was good, which was half of the job I think! Then Noni was screaming, “Shoot, shoot, shoot!”, so I had to shoot. I tried to chip it a bit and it went in nice.’

The goal sparked a devastating seven-minute spell, as Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka both found the net to put the game beyond Lille and make it two wins from two in the league phase.

Timber’s influence was not limited to his goal. Arsenal’s full-backs created four of the side’s six attempts before half-time, and the Netherlands international could easily have registered two assists had Bruno Guimarães and Mikel Merino been more clinical. He also won possession back in the build-up to Eze’s goal.

It was just his second start of the campaign, having battled through further injury setbacks in recent weeks. He returned to action off the bench in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Leeds United, his first appearance at the Emirates since March.

Injuries have been a recurring theme since his arrival in north London. Arsenal signed him from Ajax in July 2023 for a fee in the region of £38million, but he suffered an ACL injury on his Premier League debut and missed almost the entire season.

When fit, however, he has proven to be one of Mikel Arteta’s most dependable performers, and Arsenal will hope he maintains fitness through an upcoming busy spell in north London.

His display against Lille will only intensify the competition at right-back, with Ben White, who came off the bench late on, now facing a battle to reclaim his place.

Arsenal return to Premier League action on Sunday when they travel to Nottingham Forest, before returning to European action as they travel to Bayern Munich next week.