Eboue Urges Arteta to Keep Timber on the Bench for PSG Champions League Final

Arsenal's bid for a historic double is within touching distance. The Gunners have already claimed their first Premier League title since 2004, edging out Manchester City, and now face PSG in Budapest on Saturday with the chance to lift the Champions League trophy and complete an extraordinary season.

Yet Mikel Arteta faces some thorny team selection headaches before the biggest match of the campaign, with fitness concerns threatening to complicate his starting XI. The right-back position has become something of a crisis zone for the north Londoners, and it's this dilemma that has prompted some pointed advice from an unlikely source.

Emmanuel Eboue, the former Arsenal full-back, has cautioned against throwing Jurrien Timber straight back into the fray. The Dutch defender hasn't featured since March's victory over Everton, sidelined by a groin problem that initially seemed minor but has lingered stubbornly. With Ben White also ruled out through injury, Timber is racing against time to prove his fitness—but Eboue reckons that's precisely why Arteta should resist the temptation to start him.

"Timber will want to play. As a player, your dream is to play the Champions League final. I think for him, he will want 100 per cent want to start," Eboue told Metro. "But he has not played for a long time. He has to wait a little bit then we can see. The PSG team, they are so strong and so fast so I think it is better for Arteta to leave him on the bench."

Instead, Eboue backs Cristhian Mosquera to handle the responsibility of keeping PSG's Georgian danger-man Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at bay. Whilst acknowledging that Mosquera lacks Timber's technical refinement, the former Arsenal defender believes defensive steel is what's required against such formidable opposition.

"For me, Mosquera is the best option. I have seen his games and he has done very well, he is very strong and he is very hard to get past. I think it is a better option for Arteta to let him start. He doesn't have the technical ability of Timber but he is very strong defensively. I think they need him."

The midfield conundrum presents another puzzle for Arteta. Martin Zubimendi has been the architect of Arsenal's success throughout the campaign, anchoring the engine room with considerable aplomb, yet recent displays suggest fatigue may be creeping in. Myles Lewis-Skelly has injected fresh vigour upon his return to the side, prompting the question: does experience trump momentum?

Eboue is in no doubt. The established partnership that has served Arsenal so well deserves another outing on the grandest stage.

"It is better to pick the midfield that has played together so much play on Saturday. They have done so well together and were so strong for such a long time. For me, Lewis-Skelly is too young to start this game. I know he is a very good player but for the Champions League final you need the players who have experience. With the PSG midfielders, they are so intelligent and quick. For Lewis-Skelly I think it is better for him to start on the bench and then we will see."