Jurrien Timber is delighted to have signed with Arsenal.

The former Ajax defender joins the Gunners for a mooted £38m and insists he's long been a fan.

Timber told arsenal.com: “It was because of my brothers. They were always Arsenal fans, and I just loved seeing Arsenal play. They had big players, the way they played, the style. I just love the club.

“I had this from a young age, but my brothers kind of put that in me. I liked watching Robin van Persie of course, and Thierry Henry. They were my favourite players."

He continued: “There are a couple of players [who have come here from Ajax], but there have been not a lot. So I think it's special to be here as an Ajax player and it's special that they notice you and they see me as the player I am.

“I'm really excited, especially now I'm here. Everyone is so nice and you can see it's a big club. I'm excited to play for this beautiful club, and I can't wait to start, and to see the fans obviously in the stadium."

Timber, who takes the No12 shirt, also said of his favoured position: “I think that I'm lucky to say that I can play as a central defender, as a right full-back, sometimes even on the midfield. So I think that's a good thing and I need to keep that.

“I just like the way Arsenal play, is a bit similar to Ajax's style and I like to play from the back. I can see a lot of similarities, especially in the way Arsenal and Ajax want to play."