Don Pacifico I dunno. White was bought as a CB and was then shunted to RB when Tomi got injured and Saliba returned from loan. I think that tells you that whilst he's been brilliant, he doesn't represent exactly what Arteta is looking for in that role.

We stumbled into his ability in that role, regardless what Mikel initially thought. He's gonna be there for a while I reckon. But whoever else is in RB will defo get game time as Benjamin looked fucked towards the end of last season and especially the end of the previous one.

      banduan yeah that's my thought as well. I think White is too good to be dropped but he is still not a natural RB, certainly not as natural as Timber. First half of last season before Tomi was injured he was preferred in many games to White and I feel Timber will be rotated as much which will be beneficial for us. We need White as fresh and fit in the crucial run in as possible. Tomiyasu will also be back in October.

      Our defensive depth is insane, rightly so since we have kept up the trend of signing one big defender every window

        banduan We stumbled into his ability in that role

        Not exactly ... I'm pretty sure we shelled out the £50m because of his calibre and versatility, and with a weather eye on Saliba's progress at Marseille despite all the protests at the time.

            Burnwinter it's like we bought Havertz as a CM and have all the ideas of how he could succeed there, but when he turns out not as good as we thought that we moved him back to CF and the rest is history...

            Sometimes plans do change, and stumbling into the right role for players despite all the scouting saying otherwise happens. White only played as a RB twice before he joined us, played alot in DM so I'm not sure our scouts we have seen him as a RB.

            But then again... Timber has NEVER played as a LB and we immediately played him as a LB lol.

                Clrnc it helps if you buy multi-positional players. Every single one of our players can handle different roles, sometime up to 3 or 4. That’s a clear recruiting requirement. You’ll notice that one dimensional players were quickly removed from the team.

                It allows us to have a more resilient team with fewer players. It also allows us to do different formations on offense and defense and during different phases of the game.

                    Claudius @Clrnc Yeah it's not been so much about recruiting players across several roles as rarely recruiting players who are awful on the ball or athletically inferior.

                      24 days later

                      It's funny that the MO on this guy was that he was an on-ball savant with question marks over his defending. So far, he looks like a lockdown defender but's he been absolutely fucking brutal on the ball. Hopefully it's just that he's playing on the wrong side but having a leftback that can pass the ball forward come on to the field was a relief.

                        DiabyKungFu

                        It was apparent from his first appearance at LB, which is why I was so bemused when people had him starting in the position when he hadn't shown anything (talking about last year's pre-season) to usurp Zinchenko or Tomiyasu.

                        TBF to him, left back is not his natural position, so it favours playing more conservatively and I'm very sure he will be a completely different beast down the right.

                          Seems to be quality defensively and has the tools to be a one-on-one beast.

                          Going forward I think his ball carrying is more his thing than passing.

                          Might become the long term RB.

                          0 passes completed from right back. He looks like he was born to defend wingers, but it would be nice to have at least one good on-the-ball day at some point.

                            DiabyKungFu

                            I wouldn’t judge him too harshly on that as we were down to ten men v best side in the world.

                            Let’s see what he does v Leicester and Southampton etc

                              It was a superb defensive performance.

                              I thought he looked pretty slick on the ball in terms of dribbling, kept it quite well on the touchline a couple of times. He does seem to get a little lost inverting, doesn't look like he's used to asking or showing for the ball in central areas of the pitch.

                              DiabyKungFu 0 passes completed from right back. He looks like he was born to defend wingers, but it would be nice to have at least one good on-the-ball day at some point.

                              Read on opta that apparently Havertz somehow didn't complete a single pass all game which is mind blowing. Like no way is that true, is it?

                                  He's hardly played any football so might be a bit of rusticness but his passing does need to be better.

                                  Dunno if it was just down to injury but a good move using him yesterday ahead of White. White does struggle a bit against nimble wingers whereas Timber has looked rock solid against them.

                                    Big Willie Havertz is less surprising than Timber given that Kai was up on his own and trying to win flick ons etc

                                      JazzG Dunno if it was just down to injury but a good move using him yesterday ahead of White. White does struggle a bit against nimble wingers whereas Timber has looked rock solid against them.

                                      White was injured. And he came on and still
                                      Played second half. Arteta says he’d run through a wall for the team.

                                        I don’t respect White’s game. Y’all know this. Think he’s pretty basic. But, his attitude cannot be questioned. Hope he gets better soon. Timbers versatility is a great attribute to this end. We have done a great job building this current squad despite all the naysaying about Artetas penchant for defenders, which has come in extremely useful as we can now see. The likes of Tomi and Zinchenko can play in the less important competitions or in trash minutes for easier games, and give the first teamers a break.

                                          Saying you dont respect White's game is pretty harsh. I don't think he's that basic, i think he is a good defender who was converted to a RB and has played really well for us. I just think back to Chelsea last year, that was not real basic to me. Does Timber offer something he doesnt? Sure, hes much better on the ball for sure. But Benny has put in a lot of good crosses and overlaps well, especially when Ode is playing and has a good rapport with Saka. And he is a great shithouser, and can defend well also.

                                            White's link up with Saka and Odegaard is top notch, whether it's under or overlapping, he times it all to perfection.

                                            A "basic" footballer wouldn't be able to carry out all the roles Ben White does to such a high level in this football team. And he is the literal embodiment of the "mentality monster" phrase used elsewhere on this forum.