Ben White is facing a pivotal moment in his Arsenal career as his future hangs in the balance due to a severe lack of game time this season.
The defender completed his move from Brighton to Arsenal in the summer of 2021 for a blockbuster fee of £50million and has gone on to make more than 150 appearances for the club. However, the 28-year-old is facing the biggest challenge of his Gunners career so far.
Mikel Arteta's side are flying high in the Premier League right now, with a solid defence being the foundation of their early-season success so far. But while it's great news for the Gunners, White is one of the few victims of such success.
Ben White Must Consider His Arsenal Future
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Arsenal's success is based on a defence that conceded just three times in their opening eight Premier League games. The Gunners are also yet to concede in four matches across the Champions League and EFL Cup.
For Arteta, this is a great tool that could lead them to glory, but for White it has meant that game time has been extremely limited.
After starting the opening game of the Premier League season against Manchester United, White has failed to make it onto the pitch in any of the following seven league matches. While two of those were missed through injury, the most recent five have seen the 28-year-old remain an unnamed substitute.
White made 26 appearances in all competitions last term in a campaign that was heavily impacted by a knee injury, meaning that the need for regular first-team football is paramount.
The defender, who recently returned to England contention, has aspirations of representing Thomas Tuchel's side in the 2026 World Cup. But with competition for places particularly fierce, it means that something has to give at club level.
Timber's form has been brilliant, and that means that White will require a huge stroke of luck to break back into Arteta's first-choice XI, leaving him with a big decision to make going into the January transfer window.
In order to play regularly, the former Leeds loanee, who earns £150,000-a-week at the Emirates Stadium, could look to force a transfer away during the January transfer window.
Doing so would boost his chances of representing the Three Lions next summer while offering him the opportunity to get his stalling career back on track. Of course, such a decision will not be easy to make given strong hopes of winning major silverware this season, but Arteta may have no choice if White decides it's best for him.