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Heading into this season, the decision was easy. When Jurriën Timber is fit, he starts at right-back - no questions asked, no second thoughts given.
However, in the Gunners' first game, Ben White has proven that the decision is much more complex than that. Timber is still Arsenal's first-choice right-back, but the gap in quality and importance is nowhere near as big as Arsenal fans thought.
Against Coventry, White proved that he needs to be in contention, and Mikel Arteta needs to find ways to implement him in some more lineups going forward.
Ben White was one of Arsenal's standouts against Coventry
As the season opened on Friday night, White brought his A-game. Many of the positive plays came from Arsenal's right side, and Bukayo Saka getting back to his best was a result of White being involved again.
Throughout the entire match, Ben White made the joint-most touches (94) with Myles Lewis-Skelly. He recorded an impressive pass accuracy of 95%, completing 74 passes. He also contributed an assist, which is always a nice bonus.
- Minutes played - 90
- Goals - 0
- Assists - 1
- Expected goals (xG) - 0.18
- Expected assists (xA) - 0.21
- Distance covered - 11.2 km
- Accurate passes - 74/78 (95%)
- Chances created - 2
- Defensive contributions - 5
- Tackles - 1
- Blocks - 0
- Clearances - 3
- Headed clearance - 2
- Interceptions - 1
- Recoveries - 3
- Dribbled past - 0
Arsenal fans don't need reminding of the importance of White, but if they did, then the Coventry match was a perfect example of that.
Ben White proved he is not too far away from Jurriën Timber
He and Timber are two different players, so Arteta is certainly spoilt for choice. When he inevitably needs to rotate White in again, then fans can rest assured that they're about to see a White masterclass.
With no disrespect to Saka, he is a completely different player with White on the pitch versus Timber. White brings the best out of him, whereas Timber steals the show a bit.
White entered the transfer window with a chance of being sold. While the transfer window is not yet over, it's hard to imagine that White will be sold now.
Arsenal's defensive depth is more than impressive, but they still find themselves relying on White. It is even more impressive considering they still need him in a position that he wasn't even signed to fill originally.
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