Arsenal head to Brighton on Saturday with the right-back situation under scrutiny and Jurrien Timber firmly at the centre of it. The Dutch defender is expected to be available, which matters because Mikel Arteta is short of natural cover in that area and has already had to improvise.

Timber made his first appearance of the season when he came on at half-time in the 2-0 win over Sunderland last weekend. He then missed the midweek Carabao Cup meeting with Ipswich, which raised the obvious question. Arteta shut it down quickly. “Everything is fine,” said the Arsenal manager. “He has played much more than we wanted. The other day he had 53 minutes after five months out. We need to look after him.”

That is the situation in plain terms. Timber is not injured again, Arsenal are simply managing him carefully. Given his lay-off, that is the sensible call. It also becomes more important because Ben White picked up a groin issue at Sunderland, adding another layer of concern around the back line.

White sat out the Ipswich game, though there is optimism he can return at the Amex. Arteta said, “Ben is all good, we have another training session this afternoon, so very positive about everybody. Yes, we have another session; they are all willing to be part of it, and we have another session to try to make sure they are fit.” It is standard pre-match caution, but the message is clear enough. Arsenal expect White to have a chance.

Arsenal do not have much room for error defensively. Cristhian Mosquera remains out with the muscle injury suffered against Aston Villa last month. William Saliba is still a long-term absentee because of a back problem. That has forced Ezri Konsa into central defence alongside Gabriel, while Martin Zubimendi was used at right-back in the 4-2 win over Ipswich.

If Timber is ready to start, that immediately restores order. If not, Arteta is back to patchwork solutions. Konsa can cover the flank, though moving him creates another issue in the middle. There is no mystery here, Arsenal need bodies back.

Further forward, the choices look more settled. Bruno Guimaraes could make his first Premier League start for Arsenal after making a strong impact off the bench against Sunderland, including a superb goal. David Raya, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori are all expected to return after being rested in midweek.

In attack, Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis remain the likely wide options, with Martin Odegaard behind Kai Havertz. Noni Madueke helped his case against Ipswich, but probably not enough to force his way in. Viktor Gyokeres, meanwhile, has yet to make a serious argument for the starting role.