Arsenal: 3 Ben White tactical roles under Mikel Arteta

2. Ben White Helps Arsenal Adopt a Higher Line

Notable with the signings being made in not just this window but previously under Arteta is the desire for a more front-footed side who can shift the backline further forward.

Gabriel was brought in last summer and was the beginning of what Arteta wanted from his team defensively. The Brazilian is the quickest and most aggressive of Arsenal’s centre-backs off the ball, willing to push out of his defensive line and engage an opposing forward dropping off.

White knows how to play in a side adopting a high line from his time under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds. Some concerns have risen over how he’d adapt to a 4-2-3-1 counter-press system having been in a back three with Brighton, but he spent 12 months prior to that being the standout central defender in the Championship.

A different calibre of division, of course.

But White is Premier League proven and alongside Gabriel helps Arsenal shift into a team who can move up the pitch a few yards with less concern over being beaten over the top. With the right ‘box shape’ dynamic with the double pivot, spatially aware full-backs and a proactive goalkeeper, this will aid Arsenal in sustaining attacks for longer.

Even if the ball is lost through poor decision making, as happened so often last season, the speed with which Arsenal recycled possession primed to go again was so arduous that the opposition were able to readjust their shape by the time one of the centre-backs was positioned to reform the attack.

This can change.