Mikel Arteta’s defensive conundrum – Ben White or William Saliba?

Upon his return, William Saliba has been nothing short of sensational with Mikel Arteta moving Ben White out to right-back in Takehiro Tomiyasu’s absence. But once the Japanese defender is fit, where does that leave White?

William Saliba has shown from the first day of pre-season that he is a different beast. The 21-year-old has played at the heart of Arsenal’s defence all summer alongside Gabriel and has manifested his world-class potential with every action.

Ben White, due to Arsenal’s lack of right-back options, has been moved to the right side of the defence and, like Saliba, has performed extremely well. He gets forward, creates overlaps that lead to overloads, and defensively, he has been solid enough.

Mikel Arteta’s defensive conundrum – Ben White or William Saliba?

It is perfect, right? A back four that consists of White, Saliba, Gabriel, and either Oleksandr Zinchenko or Kieran Tierney. However, there is a little problem that Mikel Arteta is going to have to solve in the coming weeks.

What to do when Tomiyasu is fully fit?

No one can doubt the 23-year-old’s ability as a right-back. He does everything well, from defending stoutly to getting forward and whipping in crosses into the box. He has it all. We saw how much he was missed at points last season, and it only served to remind fans how important he was to the team.

With Tomiyasu on the comeback trail, where does that leave White and Saliba? The Frenchman is undroppable in his current form, and we will get a good idea of how far he has come against Crystal Palace.

A tough place to go anyway, but the Selhurst Park faithful will be particularly ebullient on Premier League opening night. Will Saliba continue to put his name up in lights?

Let’s assume that both White and Saliba perform well; when Tomiyasu is fit, who misses out? Once the 23-year-old returns to the fold, he surely comes back into the team, doesn’t he?

Many thought that Saliba would be Arsenal’s third-choice centre-back behind Gabriel and White, but after his impressive performances, one could argue that he is already the first choice.

Some have said that Saliba keeps his place, and White plays ahead of Tomiyasu. That is a possibility, but right back isn’t White’s best position, and while he has performed well so far, it is hardly the long-term solution.

But this is what Arteta and fans wanted, right? Competition for places. Gone are the days when the first team picks itself. Aside from a position or two, there is ample competition for players.

Whichever way Arteta goes, it is going to be a strong back four when all are fully fit. But, at the time of writing, any team sheet has to have William Saliba on it first.