Jurrien Timber will miss Arsenal’s next Premier League match after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. Booked early on against Brentford, the defender hit the suspension threshold during the last match before it is extended.
Players who get five yellow cards before the halfway stage of the season are forced to miss one game, with that rising to two after 10 bookings. However, after 19 games, the five-card bar is moved up for the remainder of the season.
In Arsenal’s last game before the midway point, Timber fell foul to the rule after his late and high tackle against Brentford. He will now be forced to sit out the trip to Brighton on Saturday.
To make matters worse for Arsenal, first-choice right-back Ben White is already out with injury currently. He is expected to be out for a while longer yet before returning.
It adds to a growing number of problems for Mikel Arteta, with Bukayo Saka suffering his own injury, while Kai Havertz wasn’t well enough to make the matchday squad at Brentford. Declan Rice was left on the bench as minutes were managed.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, also a right-back option, remains sidelined too. It leaves Thomas Partey as the most natural replacement against Brighton. He started in his orthodox position in midfield next to Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard.
