"He had a really weird movement" - Mikel Arteta confirms he is worried as Arsenal star goes off injured in Nottingham Forest win

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has provided a worrying injury update on Jurrien Timber after their Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, August 12.

The Gunners locked horns with Steve Cooper's men in their first game of the 2023-24 campaign on Saturday. The north London outfit had a great start, going 2-0 up in the first-half thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah.

Later in the half, Timber, who made his Premier League debut for Arsenal, went down hurt after making a challenge. Despite this, he remained on the pitch until half-time.

However, he was unable to continue after sustaining an injury without any contact right after the second half commenced. Arteta brought on Takehiro Tomiyasu to replace the Dutch defender.

Following the encounter, Arteta admitted that he was unsure of whether Timber suffered a major injury or not. The Spanish manager said (as quoted by talkSPORT):

"I need to speak with the doctors and understand what happened, but he had a really weird movement as soon as he came on the pitch. So, I don't know."

The Gunners secured Timber's signature from Ajax this summer for £35 million. He registered 34 league appearances for the Dutch club during the 2022-23 campaign, recording two goals and assists each.

On Saturday, meanwhile, Arsenal went on to win the match against Forest but were unable to secure a clean sheet. Taiwo Awoniyi got on the scoresheet for the Tricky Trees in the 82nd minute.

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"Welcome to the Premier League!" - Mikel Arteta reflects on Arsenal's performance against Nottingham Forest

Arsenal have kickstarted the new season in emphatic fashion with a win in their first fixture. While the Gunners managed to secure all three points against Nottingham Forest, they were pushed to the limits in the second half.

The north London outfit were in great form in the first half, putting on a dominant performance in front of away fans. However, they lost traction in the second half and were susceptible to attacks from Steve Cooper's side.

Burnley scored in the 82nd minute of the second half, leaving the Gunners tensed given the possibility of an equalizer with under 10 minutes to go.

When asked about the turbulent end to the match after a dominant first half against Nottingham on Saturday, Arteta said (per the club's official website):

"Welcome to the Premier League! I think that’s the highlight, we were super dominant, we deserved to win the game, there’s no question that we deserved to win the game."

He added:

"But when you are 2-0 up and you have some chances to kill the game we didn’t and then we gave a very sloppy one away after being there and having the corner and having a chance on the corner."

Arsenal will be delighted with the win with each point important.

They fought tooth and nail against Manchester City in a heated title race last season and stayed at the top of the league for the majority of the campaign. However, after suffering a string of losses in April, the Gunners slipped up and lost the title to Manchester City by five points.