Gary Neville picks surprise Arsenal star as player to watch this season

Gary Neville has high hopes for one Arsenal player (Picture: Getty)

Gary Neville has picked a surprise Arsenal player who he believes is ‘one to watch’ in the Premier League this season.

The Gunners have pushed Manchester City all the way in the past two seasons but on both occasions have fallen short of Pep Guardiola’s side.

Despite a quiet window for Arsenal this summer, with versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori the only major incoming, Arteta’s side looked back to their usual best on opening day with a routine 2-0 win against Wolves.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, though, Neville believes that Jurrien Timber – rather than new marquee defensive signing Calafiori – could be the league’s one player to keep an eye out for.

‘I was looking forward to Timber coming to Arsenal and adding defensive stability and they did that without him,’ he told Sky Sports on Monday.

‘The fact that he has been out for so long, it will just be interesting to see him.

‘Arsenal haven’t made many additions so he feels like a new addition and I am looking forward to seeing how he fits in.’

Jurrien Timber came off the bench against Wolves on Saturday (Picture: Getty)

The former Ajax defender enjoyed a nightmare debut season in north London having suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury on the opening day of the Premier League season against Nottingham Forest.

Back fit, Timber came off the bench at the Emirates against Wolves on Sunday and can be expected to fill in centrally or at full-back.

Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, earmarked Brighton’s new signing Yankuba Minteh as his one to watch after an impressive debut against Everton.

The 20-year-old, who joined from Newcastle this summer, set up Kaoru Mitoma’s opener but was withdrawn just before the break with a heady injury as Brighton romped to a 3-0 win at Goodison Park.

‘I read a lot about Minteh over the summer and towards the end of last season about him coming back to Newcastle,’ said Carragher.

‘They obviously moved him on because of the financial reasons but when I look at what they’ve got there, [Miguel] Almiron and [Jacob] Murphy, that lad, what he did [for Brighton] against Everton at the weekend, that’s one Newcastle are going to rue letting go. He looks like the real deal.’

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