Mikel Arteta should not repeat mistake over 24-year-old Arsenal star despite Man City threat

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Mikel Arteta has a number of decisions to make ahead of Arsenal’s crunch tie with Manchester City on Sunday, but he should not fall into the trap of overthinking.

When Arsenal played against the Champions at the Emirates last season, Arteta had to pick a side without key players Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus, but also sprung a surprise as Takehiro Tomiyasu started ahead of Ben White.

At the time, White was going through a little dip in form, but dropping such a crucial player for a big game proved to be costly, as Tomiyasu made a major error which led to Kevin De Bruyne’s opening goal.

Manchester City now have a different threat following the summer transfer window, with dribbling demon Jeremy Doku in line for a start in North London, and some have suggested that Tomiyasu may be best placed to counter this threat, but this is a temptation that Arteta should avoid.

White has to start against Man City

The 25-year-old, who is in contract talks after two excellent campaigns, simply must start in order to give Arsenal the best chance of victory.

Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to RC Lens saw Tomiyasu line up at right-back for the first time this season, having played on the left or in the centre until this point. The 24-year-old put in an unremarkable performance, where his limitations going forward compared to White became obvious.

White’s necessity should not be a bad reflection on Tomiyasu: the defender has actually had a strong start to the season, and was one of the best players on the pitch as he played as a centre-back in the victory away at Brentford last week.

White’s ability on the ball in attacking situations could be crucial as Arsenal need to be clinical against Pep Guardiola’s side, and with Bukayo Saka potentially missing out on the game, White will be even more important in helping Arsenal find balance on the right-hand side.

Arteta and Guardiola have both received criticism in the past for ‘overthinking,’ where they would make a surprise change to their lineup for a big game, rather than simply continuing with a familiar team and setup, and the Spaniard should not make the same mistake again when it comes to his choice of full-back.