Jurrien Timber has revealed his motivations for leaving Ajax for Arsenal this summer.
The Netherlands International was previously linked with a move to Manchester United, but he has signed a five-year contract at Arsenal instead.
Arsenal have agreed to pay Ajax £38.5 million for his signature, with the transfer being confirmed as done on Friday afternoon.
Timber, 22, arrives at the Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta’s second signing of the summer. He joins as their latest recruit after Kai Havertz from Chelsea.
Speaking to club media, Timber reveals he has always been a fan of Arsenal, which is pretty cliche to come from a new signing.
“I’ve always been a fan of Arsenal,” Timber said. “It was because of my brothers. They are always Arsenal fans, and I just loved seeing Arsenal play. They had big players, the way they played, the style. I just love the club.
“I had this from a young age, but my brothers kind of put that in me. I liked watching Robin van Persie of course, and Thierry Henry. They were my favourite players.”
He added: “I just like the way Arsenal play, is a bit similar to Ajax’s style and I like to play from the back. I can see a lot of similarities, especially in the way Arsenal and Ajax want to play.”
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How is it that Arsenal are able to get that transfer done, smoothly, for £38.5m? If it were Man Utd, it’d be a herculean struggle at twice the price and agonised over in the press every second day. Erik ten Hag is a good team manager but whoever is running the transfer business at Man Utd (not EtH) has rocks in their head.