‘His presence within the team makes a big difference’ – Timber praises ‘amazing’ team-mate after Arsenal reach Carabao Cup final | OneFootball

Arsenal booked their place at Wembley with a hard fought Carabao Cup semi-final victory over London rivals Chelsea, sealed by a decisive second leg goal from former Blues forward Kai Havertz.

The strike carried extra significance. Havertz is only recently back from a long injury lay off, a road Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber knows all too well after his own long absence early in his Gunners career. For Timber, the full time celebrations reflected more than just another win.

“It is an amazing feeling for the team, for Kai especially, and also the fans,” Timber said. “I think everyone deserves a moment like this. I think you could see how relieved everyone was and how happy that we are going to Wembley.”

Arsenal were not at their fluent best across the two legs, but Timber believes that finding a way to win is becoming a defining strength of this squad.

“That is the most important thing,” he explained. “It is not always possible to play your best. But I think this team does an amazing job of finding a way to win, no matter what. We have done it away at Chelsea, where it is not easy, and then today at home as well. So it is very deserved that we are going through and going to Wembley together.”

Chelsea ensured the tie was anything but straightforward, pushing Arsenal until the final moments.

Timber continued: “We did not expect it to be easy, not today and not the other day as well. It was going to be hard and, to be fair, there are no easy games. Chelsea have some amazing players. It was going to be hard, so big credit to the team.”

At full time, the Emirates pitch became the stage for celebrations that felt like a release.

“It is hard to describe these kinds of moments,” Timber said. “They happen a couple of times in the season and you have to enjoy them. As you could see, I think we did and the fans did as well. We want to give the fans moments like this. I think they deserve it. Hopefully, there are more celebrations like this to come.”

For Timber personally, a return to Wembley, where he made his Arsenal debut in a Community Shield defeat of Manchester City, carries added weight after his early injury setback.

“It means a lot, but I think it does to the whole club, to the whole team,” he said. “We appreciate these moments. But obviously you want to win the final, so that is the next step.”

With Arsenal still alive across multiple competitions, the Carabao Cup could act as an early season catalyst.

“We don’t have anything yet, but we’ve put ourselves in an amazing position to win,” Timber said. “The Carabao Cup final is coming early, so maybe that could be nice for us as a motivation and a boost towards the other cups as well.”

And for Havertz, Timber knows exactly what this moment represents.

“We speak with Kai all the time,” he said. “Just his presence within the team makes a big difference. I think everyone can see how happy everyone was for Kai. I hope he enjoys this moment, and hopefully there are many more moments like this for him.”