Arsenal: Ben White signing could prompt 4-3-3 switch

Forever ‘edging closer’, the overriding consensus is now that Arsenal will secure the addition of Ben White this summer; in turn becoming the most expensive defender in the club’s history by overtaking the £35m spent on Shkodran Mustafi.

Interest in White took off after initial claims were met with the right amount of apprehension, going from apparent speculative nonsense to undoubted seriousness. Lodging a £40m bid for the Brighton centre-back, Arsenal’s newest offer is due imminently.

Whether it will be enough to land the player considered worthy of the outlay remains to be seen with his current club eyeing as close to £50m as they can, but the expectancy is that he will be donning the red and white soon enough.

Once England conclude their European Championship adventure the deal could be wrapped up, although constructive talks with the player and his representatives may see the move completed earlier.

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Arsenal securing Ben White summer transfer could prompt 4-3-3 switch under Mikel Arteta for next season

His potential arrival will impact numerous players in the squad, none other than William Saliba, who looks to be on the way out in some capacity.

White is an exciting defender nonetheless. Removing the price tag, he is multi-faceted and multi-functional, offering Arsenal many of the qualities they will be starved of following David Luiz’s departure, with the added benefit of age, fitness, athleticism and speed.

In the modern game and especially in Mikel Arteta’s system, having players who you can build from in the heart of defence is vital to ensuring the forwards can occupy the advanced spaces where they can be most effective.

A centre-back who can play through people, around people and over people through a range of passing styles and carrying ability ensures quicker progression can occur deep inside your own half.

Finishing the season strongly in a 4-2-3-1, Arteta had seemingly been able to crack the safe that was holding back the Gunners’ potential. Admittedly, a favourable Premier League run-in helped during that spell.

However, it has always been Arteta’s long-term desire to move into a 4-3-3 formation at some stage. Dabbling with it on occasion last season with different shades of the setup, it became clear that the personnel at his disposal were not the right bodies to fulfill that remit.

"He said so himself to Nacho González, via Football365: “We want to move to a 4-3-3 but for that, you need a lot of specificity in every position but now in five or six positions, we don’t have it. The aggressiveness, the effectiveness, the amount of steals we make in opposition half I think we have been very steady against some big clubs”."

Is White one of the players he’s referring to?

Continued…

Ben White Can Help Arsenal Shift Into 4-3-3

£45m, or whatever it might be, is a lot of money. A rather considerable outlay this summer when prior to the window opening central defence wasn’t considered one of the primary areas to target.

When you are paying that amount there are a couple of questions to ask:

• Is he an upgrade on what is here?
• What can he bring us we don’t already have?

The first point is clearly a yes and the second one is a number of aspects. For that amount of money you want something different; a player that can help open new doors. White’s qualities are plain to see but it is his diverse skillset and versatility that can help bridge the move from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3.

His signing alone wouldn’t prompt it, but a player of his ball carrying ability, as well as his additional pace, lessens the need for Arteta to be fielding two holding midfielders.

As Arsenal look like merging into a pressing side that plays higher up the pitch (or so we think) the addition of quicker central defenders allows the in-possession 2-3-5 shape to boast less defensively shackled No. 8’s.

If Thomas Partey is the sitting midfielder – and Albert Sambi Lokonga’s arrival also hints towards a 4-3-3 as an athletic intercepting No.6/8 hybrid – he always runs the risk of being exposed. Any lone No. 6 will face that concern. Where the difference lies is in how that risk is negated, and with a central defender fast enough to cover the high transitions and equally capable of carrying into midfield the burden of turnovers in Partey’s stead is limited.

With a full week between Premier League fixtures to work on these systematic changes, Arteta may feel there is no better time to begin implementing it. There will have to be more arrivals, of course, as a new central midfielder(s) is essential as well as a playmaker who can play as either one of two No. 10’s or as an advanced No. 8, as well as a right-back who can tuck inside so as not to limit Kieran Tierney‘s final third output.

What White does provide is a clearer whiteboard for Arteta to brainstorm. Formations in general aren’t as hugely important in the manager’s mind, as he’s stated, but moving from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 will add nuance to the way Arsenal build. Out of possession it will still be a 4-4-2 mid-block whereas with the ball, as most teams do, it will operate with five lanes of attack. The changes will be in that central area where more technically advanced and penetrative players can be selected.

Above all though, White actually needs to join Arsenal. It does look for all the world like he will and his profile is exactly that Arteta will be after. Perhaps that is with a view to going 4-3-3.