The competition for places at Arsenal is now incredibly high.
Mikel Arteta has built a magnificent squad at the Emirates over the years, and the Gunners are now nearly at full strength. They have a side capable of beating any team in the world on their day.
There are multiple top-class players in each position at Arsenal right now, and that means Arteta will have to leave a few of them on the bench every single week.
Darren Bent has now had his say on one player who may have to suffer that fate in the coming months.
Darren Bent thinks Ben White will not get into Arsenal’s starting XI
Arsenal signed Ben White from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2021.
The Englishman has arguably been the Gunners’ most consistent and reliable performer over the last three years. He’s almost always available, never complains and does a great job.
White played most of the 2023/24 season with an injury for Arsenal, but he still had his best-ever season at the Emirates. That’s how good he is.
However, that injury issue has forced him onto the treatment table in recent weeks, and Jurrien Timber has replaced him at right-back in most of the games he has missed.
The Dutchman has been absolutely unbelievable there. He is solid defensively, very good in one-on-one situations and is excellent in attack as well.
Bukayo Saka recently raved about Timber and how the defender makes his life easier.
That has led to many thinking Timber is the first-choice right-back now, and Bent agrees. He feels that White, at this moment in time, is not good enough to start ahead of the former Ajax man.
When Andy Goldstein asked if White would be his right-back if Riccardo Calafiori started on the opposite side, Bent replied on talkSPORT: “No, Timber, at the moment.”
When pressed about White starting, he said: “At the minute, no, and he has been brilliant, Ben White.”
What Mikel Arteta could do to keep both Ben White and Jurrien Timber happy
White’s injury has come at the wrong time – if he was fully fit, Timber wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play at right-back.
Now, after the Dutchman’s brilliant performances, it’s hard to imagine a team without Timber and Calafiori starting in either full-back position.
If you’re in White’s shoes, it’s just really sad – he will struggle to get into the side even though he has done nothing wrong for over two years.
However, there is one way Arteta could keep both White and Timber happy.
With Jorginho and Thomas Partey both out of contract at Arsenal next summer, we think Timber could be used in the middle of the park.
Arteta has already confirmed that Timber is good enough to play in midfield, and if he is deployed there, White will return to the side at right-back.
That would make Arsenal an even more solid team than they already are.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
