Arsenal News: Opinion – Ben White’s impressive performance against Liverpool

Following Arsenal’s draw with Liverpool, amid talk of injury problems and refereeing decisions, one player may have gone unnoticed.

Ben White started at centre-back, the position in which he began his Arsenal career, against the Reds and put in an excellent performance.

Arsenal had problems with injuries to defenders and with William Saliba suspended, White moved inside.

Bukayo Saka is back in the starting XI after injury and White’s partnership with the striker is a huge part of Arsenal’s attacking potential.

Arteta resisted the urge to play him and brought in Thomas Partey at right-back. This decision was also made due to the fact that Arteta may not have fully trusted Jakub Kivior in a game of this magnitude.

When Gabriel did have to leave due to injury, White partnered Kivior at centre-back and he held a dominant position there, constantly talking to Kivior and making sure the back line was set up correctly.

At the end of the match, White was the only first-team member of Arsenal’s back four still on the pitch, and his importance and development as a player at the time was truly highlighted.

White did manage to link up with Saka during the game, and his pass to Saka for the first goal was really good.

The Gunners take on Preston in the next League Cup and Saliba will be available for selection, so it is unclear whether White will continue in the centre-back role, but last week he showed how important he is to Arsenal’s squad.