Jurrien Timber urges Arsenal to change the narrative of their season | OneFootball

Arsenal are in Eindhoven ahead of their Champions League last 16 meeting against PSV, and Jurrien Timber has urged his side to change the narrative of their season.

The Dutchman was asked how transformative the Champions League could be for their season: “Very. I think the motivation is there. It’s an amazing league to play in. I think we did really well in the group stages and that we have a good team. Tomorrow is a beautiful game to change the narrative.”

The Gunners are in a strong position, having qualified automatically to this stage of the competition after a third place group finish. But recently their goalscoring has been an issue. Attempting to explain why, Timber said: “We have so much quality in our group. Of course we have a lot of injuries, especially up front.

“It’s a beautiful challenge for us as a team to put our forward players or anyone in the best position to score goals and hopefully we’re going to show that tomorrow.”

The ‘narrative’, as Timber put it, of Arsenal’s season certainly has changed. In the space of two weeks their EFL Cup and Premier League ambitions seem to have ended.

“I don’t see it as negative. We’ve definitely been through a lot, especially the last couple of weeks. But it’s a challenge for us and we just have to take it.”

Asked then, how Arsenal can change the narrative, Timber said: “By winning games, it’s as easy as that. We have to score tomorrow, we have to win games. In the Champions League you only have two games, so you don’t get second chances…

“This team can win a lot. We will always do everything we can to win prizes. Tomorrow is another step towards that.”

The game tomorrow is certainly the first step towards that. Mikel Arteta will know how vital it is. Only progression in the Champions League can keep alive their ambitions for this season.