Just days after a demoralizing defeat at Fulham in December, Arsenal’s worst performance of the season, Mikel Arteta spoke of the importance of his players feeling “comfortable” with their instructions and positions.
“We have to play to the players’ strengths, that’s the first thing,” Arteta said. “I don’t want players to do things they don’t like doing.”
The Arsenal manager did not name any players in particular, but with the benefit of hindsight we can now make an educated guess as to who he might have been referring to. In the game against Fulham, centre-back Jakub Kiwior was asked to play as an inverted full-back in the mold of Oleksandr Zinchenko and this did not go well.
There are few positions more complex than those mastered by Zinchenko. It requires a player to operate sometimes as a full-back and sometimes as a midfielder. This player needs to be able to defend the back post, fight one-on-one against wingers, receive the ball under pressure and make sharp forward passes.
In short, it is extremely difficult and it is clear that Kiwior is not having a pleasant afternoon “in the role of Zinchenko”. He was taken off in the first half and didn’t look happy at all with the ball at his feet.
Zinchenko’s ongoing fitness issues mean the Kiwior has made two appearances at left-back since the Fulham game, against Liverpool in the FA Cup and then against West Ham United this weekend. However, in neither case was he asked to move from his starting position to midfield.
Instead, Arteta looked for alternative solutions. And on Sunday he found the form of £50m defender Ben White, who once again showed his versatility and technical ability in Arsenal’s 6-0 win at the London Stadium.
Arteta usually wants left-back Zinchenko to play in midfield when available. Against West Ham, the Arsenal manager appeared to have reversed the system as Zinchenko did not feature due to injury. For the first time, it was White who played the “Zinchenko role”, moving from right back to midfield.
This proved to be a masterstroke. Arsenal dominated possession and White dominated. The 26-year-old touched the ball 81 times and attempted 66 passes before being substituted in the 77th minute of the game for a 6-0 lead. He averaged 79 touches and 61 passes per 90 minutes this season before joining West Ham.
In other words, White completed almost 30 percent more passes on Sunday than he has averaged in his previous games this season.
White’s change of role has helped Arsenal in two ways. First, it allowed Kiwior to focus on what he does best: defence. The latter liberated Bukayo Saka. Saka was often seen in one-on-one situations against West Ham left-back Emerson Palmieri, with White breaking into midfield and dragging opponents with him.
Saka usually has to play against at least two defenders. Here he enjoyed the space White had created. Although he was sent off in the 67th minute, the English winger finished the match with eight shots, two goals, three goal opportunities, four dribbles and 76 ball touches. In the entire match, 47 percent of Arsenal’s attacks came from the right and 24 percent from the left.
It’s no surprise that White has been able to handle this change in his role. Earlier in his career, he played as a defensive midfielder for both Leeds United and Brighton. In fact, the only real surprise is that White has not been selected by Arteta in this position before, given his quality on the ball and his ability to read the game.
Sunday’s victory was Arsenal’s fourth straight win since their mid-winter training camp in Dubai. This break clearly benefited the team, especially White. He was dealing with a knee problem before Christmas and was playing through pain every week. Arteta said earlier this season that such was White’s willingness to put his body at risk that the defender would try to “hide” any discomfort he was feeling from the club’s coaches.
On the pitch, White’s versatility and reliability make him essential to Arsenal’s title hopes. Apart from this, his competitiveness and dedication to the cause is often cited as an example for others to follow. It’s no surprise, then, that Arsenal are keen to tie him down to a new long-term contract: after months of discussions, talks are now in the advanced stages.
If a deal can be reached, as is currently expected, Arsenal managers will have secured the long-term futures of White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. These are three of Arteta’s four picks from the back and three key parts of the defense that has conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League this season.