Ben White has his work cut out to return to Arsenal's starting lineup

Ben White watched Arsenal host Leicester City at the Emirates from the stands with his family, after a groin issue meant he was excluded from Mikel Arteta's squad entirely.

It wasn't the first occasion in which he missed out on a starting spot this season; against Manchester City the weekend prior, White was left on the bench with Jurrien Timber in his place.

Not that the Englishman has struggled this term - having featured in six out of Arsenal's eight games, it's difficult to pinpoint a moment in which he has seriously put a foot wrong. In fact, despite what seems to be an ongoing groin injury, White still rose to the occasion when called upon for the gritty second half at the Etihad. Mikel Arteta couldn't speak highly enough of his performance:

"" will run through a brick wall for you. We didn’t want to play him but we had to. I spoke to him, I wanted to protect him. He won’t ever tell you that he’s not fit.""

- Mikel Arteta

Yet notwithstanding, it looks as though the 26-year-old will have his work cut out if he is to plough his way back into the starting eleven. His peers have quite simply grasped their opportunities in his absence.

Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori star for Arsenal in 4-2 win over Leicester

Previously functioning on the left side of defence this season, Timber swapped to the right after Ben White's fitness concerns meant he was avoided a start against Manchester City. For the first 45 minutes at least, White's absence was not felt at all, and it was only after Leandro Trossard's red card that he was brought back into the fold to shore up the backline.

Against Leicester, Timber once again impressed with some strong defensive moments, but also with useful attacking proficiency too. The dynamic and energetic overlap which White has previously been lauded for, Timber replicated with ease, as he assisted Gabriel Martinelli for the Gunners' opener.

In addition, the Dutchman was also equally as comfortable coming inside for a more inverted view of his position. Although White has shown the capability for this kind of versatility, it remains something more natural for Timber's style of play instead.

Meanwhile, Riccardo Calafiori has also surprised some after taking the left-back slot vacated by Timber. His long-range stunner against City stole the headlines, but he held his own quite well outside of the goal, despite effectively being thrown well in the deep end for his first Arsenal start.

The Italian followed up with a strong showing at centre-back against Bolton midweek in the EFL Cup, and then another returning to left-back against Leicester City.

The left-hand side for Arsenal has been a technical issue for some time now, with Martinelli often falling under scrutiny for his lack of potency, but his chop-and-change supporting cast hasn't helped either. Ever since Calafiori's integration, the Brazilian has seemingly improved - he has notched three goal contributions in the two fixtures with Calafiori at left-back.

Ultimately, this combination of Timber on the right and Calafiori on the left has yielded positive results so far, and bringing White back into the starting team is far from a necessity at the moment.

How can Ben White break back into the first-team?

Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities for minutes for White, given the hectic forthcoming fixture schedule this winter, but fans will expect to see something different to warrant a start for him over other options.

Timber has already proved that he is capable of replicating White's defending and also the classic outside overlap, but his exceptional close control has enabled him to naturally switch to an inverted role when required as well.

White perhaps lacks this level of technical ability, but he makes up for it with his superb football intelligence and long-range qualities. If he is able to perfect his crossing and long-passing, which he is certainly capable of, he could provide a unique, and a more direct, alternative to Timber.

With that said though, Mikel Arteta has a serious selection headache on his mind, but the good kind of course. This competition should bring the absolute best out from all of White, Timber and Calafiori, but most from the former, who will need to place a strong argument in his favour to break back into starting contention.

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