Who should start at right-back: Ben White or Takehiro Tomiyasu


White


Who should start at right-back: Ben White or Takehiro Tomiyasu

By Tom Masters

Despite a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United last weekend, Arsenal sit top of the Premier league table after the first six matches of the new campaign and one man who has been a key part of that is Ben White. 

White, who was purchased from Brighton and Hove Albion for £52 million last summer primarily as a centre back has played in all six Premier League matches this season at right back. 

That has come partly down to the return of William Saliba from Marseille, who has formed a quality pairing with Gabriel, and partly down to the injury sustained by last season’s first choice right back Takehiro Tomiyasu. 

But with Tomiyasu now back fit, the big question on many Arsenal fans’ lips is who should be the first choice right back? 


Pick on form? 


It must be nice for Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff to have options, after a season last year in which there was very little wriggle room for injury. 


But as we have seen from other managers blessed with two quality players in one position – is the best policy simply just to play the inform player? 


Tomiyasu certainly impressed after his deadline day move from Bologna last season, but in his absence at the start of this White has excelled down the right flank for the Gunners. 


In a similar vein to how Tomiyasu plays, White is the more defensive of the two full backs, allowing either Olexandr Zinchenko or Kieran Tierney to bomb forward and join in the creating of chances. 

With White and Arsenal in such good form, is there an argument that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it? 


Scheduling 

Due to the nature of the scheduling with the FIFA World Cup in November, clubs involved in European competition will be more or less playing a game every three days until November 12 when the Premier League stops for the World Cup. 


With Arsenal in the Europa League, they will be playing matches every Thursday and weekend for the foreseeable future. 


With those fixtures, it will simply not be possible for any player in the squad to play every game, with the exception of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. 


That will mean that Tomiyasu and White will share the right back duties, with White also likely to be chipping in with some minutes at centre back. 


Rotation 


Arteta this season has essentially only made changes when he absolutely needs to, but with the heavy scheduling coming up and Arsenal seemingly finally having a squad in which they can afford to share the load a bit, Arteta may start to become more like the man he learned off – Pep Guardiola. 


Guardiola’s infamous ‘Pep Roulette’ frustrates fantasy players far and wide, but it is a policy that has seen Manchester City rise to become arguably the best side in world football. 


Now Arteta may choose to deploy his own version, with players being heavily rotated, which will again most likely lead to a share of the responsibilities on the right side of the defence. 


Verdict: 


It is hard to take the shirt away from Ben White at the moment with the form that he is in, but it is only a matter of time before we start to see Tomiyasu starting games again. 


The schedule is simply too congested for one to hold down the jersey and with Arsenal having two very capable players there, it seems that Arteta will likely rotate the pair heavily. 

Popular posts from this blog

Transfer Profile: Ruben Neves

Image
Transfer Profile: Ruben Neves By Jonny Bray It is hard to believe that Ruben Neves is still only 25-years-old.   It feels as if the Portuguese international has been tipped for big things for nearly a decade now.  With the midfielder out of contract in 2023, it appears his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers could be coming to an end.  Understandably, with a player like Neves on offer for a reduced price, clubs around Europe are queueing up to secure the international's signature.  So, after all this time, should Arsenal move for Ruben Neves now, or is it time for the Gunners to turn their attention to a new target?  What would he bring?  Arsenal do not have enough defensive midfielders.  Martin Ødegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka give Mikel Arteta plenty of midfield options going forward, but the Gunners have been found lacking when out of possession this season. Thomas Partey has been in and out of the side due to injuries, a fact that has not hel...
Read more

What have we learned from Arsenal's pre-season so far?

Image
  Arsenal – what have we learned from pre-season? By Jack Lacey-Hatton It only feels five minutes since Euro 2020, but incredibly we are just one week away from the new Premier League season starting. Arsenal will travel to newly promoted Brentford for a London derby in front of a noisy crowd next Friday night, not the easiest of starts to the new campaign. But what sort of shape are Mikel Arteta’s side in, going into what could be a defining season for the manager? We took a close look at what we have learnt from the pre-season period and what kind of shape the squad are in.   The new signings are ready to go It has been a mixed transfer window so far. Some fans would have expected more both leaving and arriving at the Emirates stadium over the summer. But positives can be taken - Ben White has arrived from Brighton for £50million, and highly-rated full back Nuno Tavares has come in from Benfica. Albert Sambi Lokonga completes the 2021 summer singings so far. Cruc...
Read more

Who needs to be let go in January to make way for new signings?

Image
Who do Arsenal need to let go of in the January transfer window to make way for new signings? By Bradley West The New Year is upon us and that can only mean one thing - the January transfer window!  While there were plenty of ups and downs during 2020 for Arsenal fans, who knows what the next 12 months will bring and change could begin in earnest with transfer comings and goings this month.  It’s that time of the year for going out with the old and in with the new, and boss Mikel Arteta confirmed in December that outgoings would be the focus of January with the club having to sell players before they can bring anyone in.  Midfield creativity has long been mooted as the desired area for recruitment but where can wages and space in the squad be freed up to allow those additions?  After Sead Kolasinac joined Schalke on loan for the rest of the season, and with several players in the squad not seeing much action, we’ve selected five players who could be let go this month...
Read more