Bukayo Saka has established himself as Arsenal’s most important player in recent years.
The winger was on course for an exceptional campaign last term, scoring 12 goals and registering 13 assists across all competitions.
However, Saka suffered a serious hamstring injury in December, which resulted in him missing over three months of action, derailing the Gunners’ season in the process.
He’ll hope to remain injury-free in 2025/26, and ultimately lead his boyhood club to major silverware for the first time in five years.
Declan Rice waxed lyrical about Saka and his ability to glide past players last week.
The likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have struggled to beat their opposing full-back regularly for some time now, with Saka becoming Arsenal’s only reliable dribbler.
The England international is the only player who completes more than two take-ons per 90 minutes in the Gunners’ squad, and this has been blatantly obvious during pre-season.
Thus, Arsenal are clearly reliant on Saka to break down low blocks, and Mikel Arteta should be looking to platform the player’s skills in the best possible way.
That involves surrounding him with the players he functions most effectively with, and former Arsenal star David Hillier believes the wide forward is at his best when he has Ben White playing behind him at right-back.
“We talk about partnerships, and this is the key thing,” Hillier said on the Highbury Squad YouTube channel.
“It is how players play together. We see it with Ben White playing, with Saka or [Jurrien] Timber playing with Saka.
“I think Timber is a great player, but the relationship isn’t as good as White and Saka. It’s about those key partnerships on the pitch at the right time.”
There’s no doubting that Jurrien Timber, who the Gunners bought for £34 million in 2023, is an exceptional lockdown defender.
Timber was one of Arsenal’s best players last season, but he largely earned plaudits for how he dealt with opposition wingers, rather than his interplay with Saka down Arteta’s team’s right-hand side.
White has a better understanding of when to overlap, is more relentless at making these runs beyond Saka, and the quality of his crosses and cut-backs is generally higher than Timber’s.
This set of skills lends itself to breaking down low blocks, and the Englishman should always be the preferred option at right-back for games against sides who sit deep.
Against teams who will pose more of a threat and have a dynamic left-winger, Timber should be the first-choice option.
