Jurrien Timber on Arsenal injury, players who helped him and what Mikel Arteta is really good at

"It does feel like I'm at home," Jurrien Timber says as he takes a break from a game of bowls at the Arsenal Community Hub. After being roundly beaten by some local seniors his lawn game may need a bit of work, but the Dutchman seems firmly part of the furniture in north London. It could all have been so different.

Just 50 minutes into his Premier League debut Timber was struck by the injury that every footballer fears most - the dreaded ACL. "The beginning was obviously hard," he recalls. "The first few days are painful. My girlfriend helped me a lot. I felt like a baby."

It is not so much the physical strain that makes the ACL the boogeyman of footballing injuries though. Instead it is the sense of detachment that one can feel when isolated from your teammates, particularly if, like Timber, you had only trained with them a handful of times. Almost instantly though, the Dutchman knew that was not something he was going to have to worry about.

"The support of my team-mates and the coaches was immense from the moment I heard the news," he says. "I remember [Oleksandr] Zinchenko and Mo [Elneny] were at the training ground, everyone was off [that day] and the doctor left me alone for a bit, and they came into my room. They were just talking to me and encouraging me, saying so many positive things. A lot of guys were texting me, because everyone was off so no one was at the club, but they heard what happened and were texting me. They asked if I was okay and the support was immense."

Far from being cast out by the Arsenal squad, Timber is part of everything they do. He attends team meetings, has lunch with the players and staff, and is present in the dressing room before and after every game at Emirates Stadium.

Such closeness is of course great for social cohesiveness, but there is a practicality to it too. With each game in the stands Timber is studying his teammates and learning how they play. He has proved himself to be such a good student that he was even able to predict Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard as correct opening goalscorers in last weekend's 2-1 win over Wolves. While he laughs off the chance to turn his fortune-telling abilities to the coming clash with Aston Villa, the 22-year-old admits he sees an opportunity in this watching brief that many might ignore.

"You have to learn while watching," he says. "The thing is it’s a long injury, between seven and nine months, but it’s also coming closer every week. At some point you need to dig into the way we play and be ready for when I am back."

There certainly is plenty of homework to be getting on with for new arrivals at Mikel Arteta's Arsenal. Over the summer Declan Rice spoke about having to "re-learn football" after his arrival from West Ham. Despite arriving from a team at the other end of the stylistic spectrum in Ajax, this is something Timber concurs with.

"I remember talking about it with Declan when we started the season at the same time. We were inspired by the way Mikel looks at football and also how he taught everything so quick.

"I don’t like to compare, but for me he’s a great trainer. For me from when I was there the first day, he started to teach me things and explain things to me really quick. I don’t know if that’s different from other trainers, but it’s something he’s really good at."

For all the learning though, such an extended period on the sidelines has offered Timber the chance to focus on other parts of his life. One of these is religion. The 22-year-old posts a passage from the bible on social media before each Arsenal match and feels that his faith has been a crucial factoring in his positive approach to overcoming this injury.

"That is the basis and anchor for me in everything I do," he says. "That helps me in everything I do and I take it with me in everything I do. I think it is obviously a big part in the beginning to stay positive and know there is a good future ahead of me."

Timber attends a church in north London and is relishing the chance to attend Sunday service for the first time in his career. Finding such a community has helped him to lay down roots in what is his first experience of living away from his native Holland.

This is part of the reason the defender is so keen to give back to the area that has made him feel so at home. As well as learning bowls, Timber is doing a session with North London United, an initiative aimed at engaging young people with Down's Syndrome in partnership with Krome 21, and taking questions from the BTEC/NCFE Level 3 program in Sports, Development Coaching, and Fitness at the Arsenal Community Hub.

Having benefitted from similar community schemes himself growing up, Timber is hopeful that he can set an example for young people to follow in the future. "They are part of everything that we do, so it’s nice to come here, to see them happy and to see them smile, for them to get days like this," he says. It’s a small thing for us to come here and be part of this as well.

"I know how special it was to see players from the first team [growing up]. I remember how exciting it was to see players on the street as a kid, so I know how it feels for them as well. We need to keep these memories because it’s important and nice to give them that feeling that I had when I was younger.

"It means a lot for them. Maybe when they become older and a player or something big, they can do something for the kids as well."

For now though, the focus is on getting back to help his teammates. "I feel like it’s going pretty quick," he says of his recovery. "I’m making good progress and also the knee is reacting very well so I’m happy with the way things are going. Let’s just see how things are going and how long it will be still."

The plan is for Timber to be back out on the grass in the coming weeks, and there is a hope that he could make a return to action before the end of the season. Having had their appetite whetted by just two appearances so far, for Arsenal fans, that they day can't come soon enough.