Gary NevillebelievesJurrien Timberis the best full-back in thePremier Leagueand says theArsenaldefender is second-best in his position in world football.
Timber joined Arsenal in a £38.5 million deal from Ajax two years agobut his first campaign with the Gunners was disrupted by an ACL injury.
The Netherlands international made 48 appearances in all competitions last season and this term, he has been one of Arsenal’s standout performers and has cemented his place as Mikel Arteta’s first-choice right-back ahead of Ben White.
Neville believes Arsenal are significantly stronger than Premier League title rivals Liverpool with their options at full-back but feels only Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal is a better right-back than Timber.
‘What I was thinking last night watching Arsenal, I was watching Lewis-Skelly, obviously Timber played, you’ve gotBen Whiteand Calafiori, I thought all Arsenal’s full-backs are better thanLiverpool’s, all four of them, that’s a big problem for Liverpool,’ Neville said onThe Overlap.
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‘Timber is the best full-back in the league at the moment.
‘I think Timber is almost, in my mind, I would class as being… do you know the guy that plays forReal Madrid? Carvajal. For me, he’s the best. And I think Timber’s the nearest to him at the moment, I see, in terms of being able to do that bit and do that bit, do the forward bit well enough, but definitely cuts everything off down his side.’
Neville also questioned whether Viktor Gyokeres,who scored twice in Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night, will continue to find the target in key games.
‘He’s going to score 20 goals but in games and in moments that are not quite big goals,’ Neville said.
‘He’s going to contribute a lot. I think he does a good job up there.’
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