The 1-0 win over West Ham on the weekend maybe marked the last major hurdle for Arsenal in the race for the Premier League title. Against a relegation-threatened team on home soil at the London Stadium, the Gunners grabbed the breakthrough goal through Leandro Trossard before benefitting from VAR’s intervention as Callum Wilson equalized at the death. They are now five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, and a pair of winnable matches await against **Burnley**and Crystal Palace.
However, **Arsenal**did not escape this capital clash completely unscathed. A duel between Crysencio Summerville and **Ben White**left the right back in pain, and having come off the field in the first half, he left East London in a knee brace. It has since transpired that the 28-year-old has suffered a MCL injury.
The official line from the club confirmed that this setback for White will rule him out for the rest of May.
“Our medical team are now managing Ben’s recovery and rehabilitation programme, with everyone fully focused on supporting the aim of Ben being ready for the start of our pre-season preparations.”
What are Arsenal missing at right back?
For two years, White was recognised as one of the best right backs in the Premier League. He shifted into the role to allow William Saliba to sit in central defence with Gabriel Magalhaes, strengthening the side of the spine, but the Englishman was also a more valuable asset in a reconfigured right sided unit.
White willingly gallops up and down the field from right back. As an overlapping presence off Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, he frequently found space on the outside or allowed the winger to wander into more dangerous, central positions with less coverage. At the same time, he has a capable range of ball distribution from deeper areas, also allowing him to help Saka get beyond the backline off the ball.
Both traits were well demonstrated in phases of the first half against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg. The ability to help platform the side’s key attacker is enough of a reason to bemoan his absence, and it is a quality that sets apart White from even the first-choice option in the role.
It is not entirely clear whether Jurrien Timber has suffered an ankle or groin injury, or perhaps even both, but the **Netherlands**defender has been absent from action since the international break in March.
While White has struggled with knee and hamstring injuries in the last 18 months after his surgery, Timber has bounced back from an ACL injury in his **Premier League**debut to go from strength to strength. Lockdown performances from fullback were integral to helping the Gunners get Champions League semi-final football in the spring of 2025, and he has also displayed offensive value for the team.
Timber is a more compact carrier who likes to twist and turn away from pressure, and he has been an important puzzle piece for Mikel Arteta as the fullbacks have figured in more central and advanced positions in the final third. The Dutchman dropped his level a little in the new year as he displayed more signs of fatigue, but his absence at the critical point of the campaign creates a headache for the manager.
How will Arteta attempt to respond?
Without his two top picks at right back, Arteta initially tried to patch up the problem by moving Declan Rice into the role. It is a ploy that he used against **Brighton**when Timber was injured in late December, and the manager had put Thomas Partey, a midfielder by trade, in that role in previous campaigns.
On this occasion, the experiment did not last long. Martin Zubimendi struggled to assert himself in the middle of the park, and Rice returned to his usual role for the start of the second half. While **Myles Lewis-Skelly**seems to go from strength to strength upon being recalled to the starting eleven in this final month of the season, the opposite is occurring for the big summer signing in the midfield department.
Rice remains the emblem of consistency in the midfield unit, and his absence for any sustained period of time in that area of the pitch is going to be felt. That is even more the case given the form of his fellow midfielder. Zubimendi has been short of the standards he set in the first half of the season, and the lessons learnt from the narrow victory at the London Stadium should steer Arteta away from trying this again.
There is also the possibility of turning to a defensive recruit from the summer. Cristian Mosquera has been a well-priced pickup from **Valencia**to supplement the options in central defence and at right back. He started for the side against the Cityzens in this position to try and manage the 1 v 1 threat of Jeremy Doku last month and was selected as a more stable option for the second leg against **Sporting**in April.
To all accounts, Mosquera has made a positive impression at the Emirates Stadium. However, he cannot be expected to replicate the impact of White offensively or Timber in his all-round game, and the thought of him facing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the PSG press for 90 minutes is far from an ideal proposition.
While White will certainly miss the last three games of the calendar, there is still uncertainty about the extent of Timber’s injury. It is possible that he returns to the squad for the Champions League final, but a lack of match sharpness shall be a critical factor that clouds any contribution to that showpiece event.
If there is one redeeming factor for the Gunners, it is the fact that the spine of the side seems to have found its edge. Piero Hincapie has brought durability as an alternative to Riccardo Calafiori at left back, and along with Gabriel Magalhaes, this side of the rearguard feels tighter than it has been in previous years. Lewis-Skelly has infused the midfield unit with a new dynamic, and Viktor Gyokeres is giving his all on both sides of the ball to buttress the solidity of a setup that has shipped just one goal in five games.
The strength of the **Arsenal**setup under Arteta is the collective more than the individual, and they hope that quality can mask whatever problems come with their solution to the personnel problem at right back.