Stats Scouting: Jurriën Timber

Arsenal are linked with the Ajax center back, what do the stats say about him?

There was an Ornbomb this week that really shook up the normal transfer rumor mill, with the news that Arsenal have made an opening bid of £30m for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber.

Arsenal have been reportedly interested in a versatile defender this window and Timber seems to check the boxes needed with the ability to play center back, right back, and potentially defensive midfielder.

There will be a more in-depth scouting video on him where Adam watches some film and gets a better breakdown of what he might offer.

Today we are going to dig into the stats and get a sense of the player that Arsenal are linked with.

The first impression of the crab cake here, is WOW.

Timber fills out the possession-based stats with some incredible numbers. He looks like a premier ball progressor and given that Arsenal are reportidly looking for someone who could do Oleksandr Zinchenko type things on the right this makes a lot of sense.

https://twitter.com/SamJDean/status/167091669974529639

Doing a crude comparison between Zinchenko and Timber (on the Fullback template) show that at the surface level, statistically these two check a lot of the same boxes. Timber has been primarily a right sided player but his technical skill could make him valuable on both sides, especially inverting into central locations from the left.

Zinchenko because of his starting positions further up the pitch can contribute a bit more to the attack, while Timber is able to have a higher passing efficiency (something that has been a strong signal of players that Arsenal are interested in) given a mix of passes that are on average easier given they are further from the attacking goal. Overall it is a very interesting comparison.

Let’s dig into Timber’s stats a little deeper.

Passing and Ball Progression

If you were looking for the area that excites me about the player it is this.

Timber is a high-volume passer. Only three players in the Eredivisie average more pass attempts than his 81.5 per 90 and only one player averaged more completions.