Premier League leaders Arsenal face relegation-threatened Everton at the Emirates Stadium this evening, with the Gunners looking for quick revenge after falling to Sean Dyche’s side 1-0 just a few weeks ago.
That game at Goodison Park, Mikel Arteta’s first in charge of the hosts, saw a James Tarkowski header ultimately prove the difference on the day, with Mikel Arteta’s men suffering a momentary hiccup in their title charge after being held by Brentford and losing to rivals Manchester City following that defeat on Merseyside.
The north Londoners have since bounced back with victories over Aston Villa and Leicester City, giving them the chance to go three points clear at the top with a win tonight, though there will undoubtedly be fears of being undone again by the Toffees.
Although Arteta will most likely want to forget the previous meeting, the Spaniard may keep it in mind when naming his starting lineup later today, with versatile defender Ben White one man who could be dropped after his performance at Goodison.
Will Ben White make his debut against Everton?
According to journalist Jason Soutar, the 25-year-old – who joined from Brighton and Hove Albion on a £50 million deal in 2021 – produced arguably his “worst performance of the season” in that loss to Dyche’s men, having struggled up against the lively Dwight McNeil, who provided three key passes and laid on 11 crosses as a marker of his joy down the left flank.
After struggling against Manchester United, where he was substituted at half-time in the eventual 3-2 win, the Englishman was once again a liability against the Toffees, notably giving the ball away ‘far too often,’ according to football.london’s Kaya Kaynak.
That was evidenced by the fact that the ex-Leeds United man lost possession 12 times in his 85-minute outing, having inadvertently given the ball to opposition midfielder Amadou Onana early in the first half, with the Belgian colossus nearly teeing up Dominic Calvert-Lewin with an inviting pullback.
White’s struggles were also highlighted by the fact that he failed to win any of his three aerial duels while winning two of his three ground duels. He was also unable to offer much in terms of attacking with no key passes and only one, unsuccessful cross.
As a result, the £120k-per-week gem received a rather lowly 6.5 match rating from Sofascore, which was the joint-lowest of any Gunners starting player, alongside Gabriel Martinelli and Aaron Ramsdale.
Arteta will be concerned that the Poole-born defender, who won just three of his eight duels against the Foxes last time out and lost possession 13 times, will repeat his performance this time around, with Dyche no doubt looking to target a player who was a weak link in the reverse fixture.
While White’s potential replacement Takehiro Tomiyasu didn’t exactly shine against Manchester City earlier this month, having inexplicably teed up Kevin De Bruyne with an errant back pass, the Japan international could be given another chance to impress this evening on the right side of the defense.
