The former Ajax star was out injured for almost the entire past campaign, when Arsenal finished second in the Premier League.
Asked about how he is now that he is fully fit and with the team for preseason, manager Arteta stated: “He is a winner, you can see that in his body language, the way he acts, he has worked so hard, I think he is in a really good place at the moment, we are going to have to manage him now in the next few weeks because the load he has been able to do in the last few months compared to the next two weeks is very different but we are very excited about.”
On his mood last season, Arteta added: “Obviously he had his moments. It is not easy to come to a big club like here and start to set expectations with his performances and then on day one in the Premier League you are out for the season but mentally he is a really tough boy. He has a great environment around him and hopefully that will make him a better player.”
On Timber being a leader, Arteta finished: “He is a leader. He loves to be on show and a big presence in everything that we do. He is very vocal and extremely gifted technically. He is a great addition to the team.”