WATCH: Arteta provides update on fitness of Timber ahead of London derbies | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta says long-term Arsenal absentee Jurrien Timber could be involved against Tottenham on Sunday.

The defender has not played for Arsenal since the opening day of the season, when he suffered an ACL injury.

But he has been back in training and is set to return to action for Arsenal’s Under-21s on Monday evening when they take on Blackburn Rovers.

“That’s a quick step,” Arteta said when asked if he could be involved against Spurs on Sunday.

“Let’s see how he feels today. He has been training really good, he looks ready.

“He needs that exposure and after that we will assess whether that game comes at the right time or too fast and we’ll try to have him with us for the final games.”

Asked if Timber could go to the Euros with the Netherlands in the summer, Arteta added: “At the moment it looks really far (away) because he hasn’t played any football.

“Let’s see how he goes tonight, let’s see if he can contribute in an impactful way to our season and then we will see what happens in the summer.”

Watch Arteta’s pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea here: