Right-back re-think needed after Ben White has surgery

Morning.

Well, if this isn’t the season that keeps on giving. As we worry about the players who have gone away to play for their countries during this Interlull, news drops about an injury issue for one of those who has stayed behind. Ben White has undergone surgery on his knee to correct a long-standing problem, and is reportedly going to be out for something like 6-8 weeks.

I don’t suppose it’s a massive surprise. There has been chat about him carrying a knock for some time, and just a couple of weeks ago, he was deemed not fit enough to start against Newcastle (but did come on for 20 minutes at the end). He missed Premier League games against Leicester and Southampton, the Champions League tie against PSG, and both EFL Cup ties this season so far. For a guy who was basically ever-present last season, that told you there was something going on.

The conclusion I drew was that he was being managed quite carefully throughout this season so far. Perhaps Arsenal looked at the fixture list and thought the run of games after this particular Interlull made the most sense in terms of timing, if he did have to go under the knife. I understand when people ask why he didn’t have the surgery during the summer if this was an ongoing issue, I guess the answer is that they’ve been doing everything they can to avoid getting to this point. As much as possible you want to avoid that option, but clearly now there was no other choice. All we can do is hope the operation has gone well, and the recovery is as quick and easy as possible.

Knees can be complicated things. We’ve talked recently about Gabriel Jesus and how the knee injury he sustained at the World Cup has impacted his career. Obviously I can’t say 100% as I don’t have his medical information, but he had a bad injury then two surgeries (one major, one minor), which might be part of why he’s struggled since. The likelihood is that there are myriad reasons for Jesus’s decline, but at the dead centre of them is a knee injury and two operations, so fingers crossed for Ben White.

It certainly gives Mikel Arteta a bit of thinking to do about how he sets up on the right hand side from now on. The obvious replacement is Jurrien Timber who can play on the left to good effect, but who looks to me more dynamic on the right. Which should be no surprise, he played most of his career before joining us as a right-back or a right-sided centre-half, and although the sample size is small, I think his best performance for us came there when he tore up and down the right side in the 4-2 win over Leicester. He ended that game with an assist and 7 key passes to his name, and for me he’s by far the most convincing option we have available in White’s absence.

After that, I really hope we get Takehiro Tomiyasu fit because he’s the next best in that position. It’s a big if, I realise. His injury issues have been many and varied, which is such a shame because he’s a really good player, so now would be a very, very useful time for him to find a period of fitness and availability. The team needs him.

It also means that the left-hand side will be impacted. All going well, Riccardo Calafiori can stay fit after the Interlull, because that’s your first choice left-back right there. If there are games he has to sit out though, I’d prefer Mikel Arteta went with one of his more natural options rather than shifting people out of position. Your mileage will vary on how much we can or should rely on Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior or Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back, but I’d rather one of them there and Timber on the right than more of what we’ve seen at times this season.

Even here, the presence of Tomiyasu would be so useful, because he and Timber are so versatile either of them could do the full-back jobs. Tomi on the left is something we’ve seen before, and it has worked well, so I’m gonna keep everything crossed he can play a part. Am I going to put a big bet on him being available? No, I’m not as stupid as I look, but I can hope all the same.

Right, that’s your lot for this morning. We have some players in international action later on, so light your candles and say your prayers. Back tomorrow with more, as well as a brand new Arsecast.

Until then.

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