Ben White undergone a minor procedure during the international break to help fix a joint problem the Arsenal defender has been plagued with. It has been hoped that the full-back might push on but the decision has been taken to prevent the potential of a worse injury in the future.
Arsenal have suffered with plenty of injuries already this season, particularly to key players like Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice. Mikel Arteta will again need to adapt his selections to cope in the absence of White.
Jurrien Timber
The most obvious candidate is Jurrien Timber, who has flourished and impressed at both right and left-back this season. Signed in 2023, the serious knee injury he suffered meant he missed all but a few minutes of the last season.
Now fully integrated, Timber can certainly provide the quality that White will be missed because of. That said, he will leave the left-hand side, which means Riccardo Calafiori will need to recover or another option chosen instead.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Should Timber not leave the left, a player who could instead play at right-back, depending on his own fitness, of course, is Takehiro Tomiyasu. The Japanese international has himself had a torrid time with injuries this season but there is hope after this international break he could return.
Tomiyasu, like Timber, is a versatile player who can play across the back four. He started life with Arsenal on the right and impressed, while injured in his first season his absence was often pointed to for a key reason for missing out on the top four that campaign.
