Arsenal have recently been linked with Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong, and this may be because of a concern Mikel Arteta has over Ben White.
Arteta is keen on adding more options to his back line, with Arsenal’s defensive depth looking very thin as a result of injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber.
It has been mooted that Frimpong may be targeted as the club also believe he can provide cover in midfield, but it has also emerged that the right-back is desired as Arteta is concerned about Ben White.
White has been excellent since he moved from the centre to the right last season, and has performed well this season despite carrying an injury and seeing Tomiyasu briefly overtake him for a few games.
Mikel Arteta’s concern over Ben White
A report from FootballTransfers has now claimed that Arteta is worried about Ben White’s defensive ability.
“White and Tomiyasu have both played big roles this season in carrying Arsenal to the top of the Premier League and through in the Champions League. Arteta, though, has concerns about White’s defensive abilities while Tomiyasu has had persistent injury problems since arriving at the club from Bologna,” it stated.
This is something of a surprise, given that White has been an excellent defender across two positions in the back line, and adds a lot of ability on the ball going forward.
Is Ben White good defensively?
Arsenal currently have the strongest defence in the Premier League, and that is in no small part down to White’s solidity on the right-hand side.
The 25-year-old is strong in the air and competes well physically, which also allows him to slot in easily as a centre-back when required.
Tomiyasu may be seen as the better defender in 1v1 situations, but that is not to say that White is necessarily a weak point there.
The £120k-a-week Englishman does rank in the bottom 14% of full-backs for tackles per 90 minutes, but given that Arsenal are often dominant in possession, he is not required to have a high output in this sense.
White was poor defensively in Arsenal’s victory over Luton, as Ross Barkley scored their third goal as the defender did not close him down to prevent the shot, but David Raya’s mistake played a bigger part in this.
Should Frimpong arrive, he would join as a very attacking full-back option, but White will likely still remain the first-choice option no matter who joins in January.
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