This is the third instalment of a mini-series I have had running for the last week. The purpose of this series is to identify a new central defender for Arsenal. In order to achieve this, the method has been relatively simple. I used data in the first instance to identify a small shortlist of players who fit what Arsenal are looking for in the position under Mikel Arteta. I then took the shortlist and examined more of the data around those players performances over the course of this season. This resulted in two players being identified as potential targets, Adam Webster of Brighton and Ben White who is on loan at Leeds from Brighton.
The next step was to provide more context to this recommendation with a scouting report on each player that provides examples of why these players fit what Arteta will be looking for from his central defenders. The report on Adam Webster has already been posted but we have to now provide a report and tactical analysis on Ben White as well.
Firstly we should remind ourselves of what made White stand out from our initial data search.
The stand out metric for White so far this season is his ability to win defensive duels. 9.02 defensive duels per 90 with a success rate of 74.05% tells a story in itself. The 22-year-old central defender is extremely adept at positioning himself and engaging in duels when isolated against an attacking player. He possesses the tactical and positional awareness to ensure that he is in the right place and the technical qualities to ensure that he wins the majority of his duels. The important thing, however, is that we are able to take this data and apply it to the style of play that we expect from Arsenal under Arteta.
Tactical
The first thing that we have to acknowledge when discussing Ben White is the fact that he is currently playing and learning under the Argentinean coach Marcelo Bielsa. There is a clear link in playing style and methodology between Bielsa and the Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. Before joining Arsenal, Arteta was an assistant at City under Guardiola and it is likely that Arteta will use similar tactics at Arsenal to those used by Guardiola at City. White, therefore, already has a grounding in these concepts.
