Mikel Arteta now needs to rest Arsenal star against Bournemouth

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Arsenal secured their place in the Carabao Cup fourth round with a victory at Brentford, and used the opportunity to rotate the starting XI.

Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka, Fabio Vieira and Declan Rice were nowhere to be seen as Mikel Arteta handed opportunities to a number of backup players, with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Reiss Nelson particularly standing out.

However, a number of regular starters featured, with Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes keeping their starting spots, but whilst Gabriel was impressive, White showed why he should not have been picked for this game.

How did White play against Brentford?

The 25-year-old was far from his usual self, as he was dribbled past twice and lost possession nine times. This came after a fairly poor performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby.

The Englishman has started every game this season, and has mostly played the full 90 minutes in them. Whilst William Saliba was afforded a rest, White played until he was substituted in the 69th minute, and with a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, it may be time for him to rest.

White should be rested for Bournemouth

Given that Tomiyasu was impressive, both as a centre-back and as a right-back within the same game, this could be the perfect time for the Japan international to replace White in the starting XI.

Arsenal have a trip to RC Lens in the Champions League before welcoming Manchester City to the Emirates next Sunday, and White will need to be at his best to face the Champions.

Resting him against Bournemouth will allow Tomiyasu to continue his fine form, and will give White a much-needed break ahead of the City game. He will be able to come back into the defence fully refreshed next week, and will hopefully improve his off-the-ball intensity which was lacking against Brentford.