BlueRayDick:


Which still doesn't dispute the fact that Saliba is one of the unbenchables

That's your opinion sha. People who understands how team rotation works will understand my point better.

finito

iamoyindamola:

But tomi was below average na

Tomi was not below average. Let us put context here.

Tomi was injured and White stood in for him. Fortunately (or not) White started playing well on that RB position, complementing Saliba on RCB and balancing the defense. He was the perfect guy for Arteta's three man defense whenever Zinchenko drifts into midfield during attacking phase.

Tomi didn't really get enough chance to prove himself due to his injury, so that when Saliba got injured was at a time he too was injured.

Roland was spot on when he said White was favoured because he played according to Arteta's instructions better than anyone.

Roland17:


Lets be clear, White playing RB exposed us a lot and limited us offensively. Again, the reason White is benching Tomiyasu is because he plays better to Arteta's instruction and he is always available. This is why I have advocated for him to return to the CB role and compete for a place. Is he a good player? yes but don't hype him to be the 2nd coming of Lillian Thuram in his prime.

All these false narratives are just to discredit White no doubt. White expose us?

Why do you think Zinchenko has the freedom to roam the Midfield? Do you think we would be able to maintain our defensive shape with a RB like Cedric?


The few times White ventured forward last season, he was excellent.


If you people wan discredit White because of Saliba, make una do so with full chest.

iamoyindamola:

Spy spy ride on
Nothing do you

He asked for receipts I give am. Wetin remain again to shalaye?

mostob:
Saliba is good but not as important as those I mentioned.

Are you sure about this??

Did you remember our defense line was the second best after Newcastle before Saliba went on injury, now check the difference with the loose goals Holding made us conceded just after Saliba went on injury and the our defense line after that, making Gabriel work too much for him in the defense line.

And you said Saliba isn’t important as the rest you mentioned?

mostob:
That's your opinion sha. People who understands how team rotation works will understand my point better.

finito

May be you needed to rephrase your question to who are guaranteed first eleven shirt with little competition. That is players whose backups cannot usurp their positions.

Ramsdale, Saliba, Gabriel, Odegaard, Saka.

Settled.

Shegzdave:

Are you sure about this??

Did you remember our defense line was the second best after Newcastle before Saliba went on injury, now check the difference with the loose goals Holding made us conceded just after Saliba went on injury and the our defense line after that, making Gabriel work too much for him in the defense line.

And you said Saliba isn’t important as the rest you mentioned?

He's living in self denial ni jare...... From the onset he never rated Saliba as shown in the attached screenshot.

At least if he doesn't rate him back then when Saliba was work-in-progress he should at least appreciate how far he has come. We have people who didn't really fancy Gabriel here from the onset but today they appreciate the player he has become

Spy360:

Tomi was not below average. Let us put context here.

Tomi was injured and White stood in for him. Fortunately (or not) White started playing well on that RB position, complementing Saliba on RCB and balancing the defense. He was the perfect guy for Arteta's three man defense whenever Zinchenko drifts into midfield during attacking phase.

Tomi didn't really get enough chance to prove himself due to his injury, so that when Saliba got injured was at a time he too was injured.

Roland was spot on when he said White was favoured because he played according to Arteta's instructions better than anyone.

Tomi wasn’t injured when the league started he was on bench

Jodera:
Hmmm... same White?

I'm surprised to see say White was average in his first season as Rcb sha

Roland17, iamoyindamola, Spy360, Lush100, daveP, Kodded, germaphobe, ObaIgwe, Shegzdave.(and other active arsenal fans here)

I go like see Una thoughts on this biko!

White wasn’t really average per se but he wasn’t what was needed to bring composure to the defense line until the inclusion of Saliba, if you could remember vividly, the media commends Arteta for making good use of him as a RB cause if he was what we really needed, Saliba won’t make Arteta drift him to the RB position.

He is decent no doubt but I think I’ll appreciate Arteta playing him in that RB position cause he is playing well to Arteta instruction in that position.

BlueRayDick:


He's living in self denial ni jare...... From the onset he never rated Saliba as shown in the attached screenshot.

At least if he doesn't rate him back then when Saliba was work-in-progress he should at least appreciate how far he has come. We have people who didn't really fancy Gabriel here from the onset but today they appreciate the player he has become

Saliba and Gabriel partnership in that defense line always gives Me this Winning Mentality whenever it’s match day but someone now Saliba isn’t really important considering the less goals We conceded with him at the back is discrediting the Young Man abilities.

Some of My guys were even telling Me Saliba injury contributed to us loosing the league to city,

Jodera:
Read up sef, na exactly the same thing I talk.

Na who go believe that nonsense na wetin I wan know

It doesn’t make any sense. But the lady wey talk am na DoF for Aston Villa. Said she’s seen it happen a lot.

Jodera:
Hmmm... same White?

I'm surprised to see say White was average in his first season as Rcb sha

Roland17, iamoyindamola, Spy360, Lush100, daveP, Kodded, germaphobe, ObaIgwe, Shegzdave.(and other active arsenal fans here)

I go like see Una thoughts on this biko!

I am surprised to read many of these posts underrating White...Honestly.

Apart from the 1st 2 matches during his 1st season when the team was yet to stabilize, I cannot remember anyone blaming White for underperforming in any of the matches he played for us till date. C'mon guys, Tomi, White , Gabriel and Tierney brought stability to our defense that season till injuries came calling on many of them.

I mean almost everyone in England blamed Southgate for not using White while parading Harry Maguire, because he is that good.

At the time we got White, only few will even think Saliba can bench him. Saliba improved the season Arteta sent him back on loan, thanks to Henry's advice to him; to use the season to make a case for himself.

If the options is to bench one and use one between Saliba and White, though I will pick Saliba in his current form ahead of White, I am not sure Arteta will and if Arteta pick White ahead of Saliba, I will not worry too much or feel bad...cos White is also very good!

PS: Who were the better defenders at Brighton when we bought White for 50M? Cucurella that was bought for 63M or who?

ObaIgwe1:


I am surprised to read many of these posts underrating White...Honestly.

Apart from the 1st 2 matches during his 1st season when the team was yet to stabilize, I cannot remember anyone blaming White for underperforming in any of the matches he played for us till date. C'mon guys, Tomi, White , Gabriel and Tierney brought stability to our defense that season till injuries came calling on many of them.

I mean almost everyone in England blamed Southgate for not using White while parading Harry Maguire, because he is that good.

At the time we got White, only few will even think Saliba can bench him. Saliba improved the season Arteta sent him back on loan, thanks to Henry's advice to him; to use the season to make a case for himself.

If the options is to bench one and use one between Saliba and White, though I will pick Saliba in his current form ahead of White, I am not sure Arteta will and if Arteta pick White ahead of Saliba, I will not worry too much or feel bad...cos White is also very good!

PS: Who were the better defenders at Brighton when we bought White for 50M? Cucurella that was bought for 63M or who?

Lol saliba was best young player in ligue 1 last 2 seasons
We all wanted saliba to replace the deadwood instead of buying white actually

ObaIgwe1:


I am surprised to read many of these posts underrating White...Honestly.

Apart from the 1st 2 matches during his 1st season when the team was yet to stabilize, I cannot remember anyone blaming White for underperforming in any of the matches he played for us till date. C'mon guys, Tomi, White , Gabriel and Tierney brought stability to our defense that season till injuries came calling on many of them.

I mean almost everyone in England blamed Southgate for not using White while parading Harry Maguire, because he is that good.

At the time we got White, only few will even think Saliba can bench him. Saliba improved the season Arteta sent him back on loan, thanks to Henry's advice to him; to use the season to make a case for himself.

If the options is to bench one and use one between Saliba and White, though I will pick Saliba in his current form ahead of White, I am not sure Arteta will and if Arteta pick White ahead of Saliba, I will not worry too much or feel bad...cos White is also very good!

PS: Who were the better defenders at Brighton when we bought White for 50M? Cucurella that was bought for 63M or who?

The bold is cap 💯 . Maguire was always in good form when in England shirt up until this last season.

Saying White is very good at CB for arsenal is just ur way of overhyping him.

I am already worried about the future of our academy players and their ability to transition into the first team. This fear kept be checking on E. Nwaneri's contract situation and today, he signed his pro deal and committed to Arsenal. Nwaneri was courted heavily by Chelsea and City but I am glad he chose to continue with Arsenal. Nwaneri is pure talent with good prospects.
#COYG

iamoyindamola:

Lol saliba was best young player in ligue 1 last 2 seasons
We all wanted saliba to replace the deadwood instead of buying white actually

That improvement/achievement that season was what brought him to be part of our first 11 straight off deservedly. Before then he was rated just a lil above average.

And he did not outrightly displace White like Zinny did to Tierney, Arteta reshuffled, and White due to his versatility was moved to RB to make room for Saliba in the RCB. The person that was displaced if any will be Tomi.

How many of us even wished Arteta could use White in the MF instead of Lokonga and instead of buying Jorg from Chelsea because he is that solid.

My point is not that Saliba is not good or that White is better than Saliba, my point is that we should not underate White because we now have Saliba or because we plan getting other good defenders.

ObaIgwe1:


That improvement/achievement that season was what brought him to be part of our first 11 straight off deservedly. Before then he was rated just a lil above average.

And he did not outrightly displace White like Zinny did to Tierney, Arteta reshuffled, and White due to his versatility was moved to RB to make room for Saliba in the RCB. The person that was displaced if any will be Tomi.

How many of us even wished Arteta could use White in the MF instead of Lokonga and instead of buying Jorg from Chelsea because he is that solid.

My point is not that Saliba is not good or that White is better than Saliba, my point is that we should not underate White because we now have Saliba or because we plan getting other good defenders.

That mean you haven’t watched saliba when he was on loan, if you remember I also ask for Dino return but I guess I was wrong on that one

Going back to mostob.. question that brought up this argument, I think I will follow the path of mostob.., truly in the current arsenal team, among the players he mentioned, na saliba I fit rest with hope that his deputy in the person of white would deliver. 💯

Roland17:
I am already worried about the future of our academy players and their ability to transition into the first team. This fear kept be checking on E. Nwaneri's contract situation and today, he signed his pro deal and committed to Arsenal. Nwaneri was courted heavily by Chelsea and City but I am glad he chose to continue with Arsenal. Nwaneri is pure talent with good prospects.
#COYG

No offense to arteta but if he remains our manager for a long time our academy will die

BlueRayDick:


The bold is cap 💯 . Maguire was always in good form when in England shirt up until this last season.

Saying White is very good at CB for arsenal is just ur way of overhyping him.

Overhyping? Really? So you really think White is not that good?

We know even Gabu and Saliba made few errors leading to goals last season. Please bring me receipts of White errors leading to goals after the 1st 2 matches while playing at CB for us.

Chelsea would have wished they got White instead of Cucurella

iamoyindamola:

No offense to arteta but if he remains our manager for a long time our academy will die

one of the reasons arteta got the arsenal job was because he proposed a plan that involved including academy players and building with youth, so if he continues next season without giving the young guns the opportunity they need then even the management would certainly put a call to him.

iamoyindamola:

No offense to arteta but if he remains our manager for a long time our academy will die

m
Arteta is not anti-youth as u are making it seem.

To me I see him as a coach who will guarantee a bid similar player starting shirt until the player fumbles and then he gives another person chance . He was using Smith Rowe last two seasons na.

The thing is it will be difficult for an academy player to burst into the scene under him but it’s not impossible . The player will need to prove himself first and then he will start seeing playing time. I think somebody pointed it out that Arteta and Klopp have a lot of similarities when it comes to their management style . It’s the same thing Klopp does at Loserpool . When senior players fumble , he gives youth player chance and from there their story change .

ObaIgwe1:


Overhyping? Really? So you really think White is not that good?

We know even Gabu and Saliba made few errors leading to goals last season. Please bring me receipts of White errors leading to goals after the 1st 2 matches while playing at CB for us.

Chelsea would have wished they got White instead of Cucurella

U are just forming narratives in ur head and running with it. Nobody has said white is not good! White at CB for Arsenal was decent , by decent we mean he’s not bad.

Roland17 already settled the matter , u go and bring the number of man of the matches White has won as an arsenal player and he position he won them from. Let’s start from there , Since u insist he is very good .

iamoyindamola:

No offense to arteta but if he remains our manager for a long time our academy will die

We have gone 2 straight seasons without any serious integration while losing some good prospects. We went out to get Awilo and Marquinhos and both are not better than the prospects we loaned out last season, especially Patino. Last season, we were chasing Mudryk who has flopped and is not better than O. Hutchinson who is now with Chelsea. I hope to see Nwaneri and Myles during the preseason with hopes they can make the squad during cup competitions.

BlueRayDick:
m
Arteta is not anti-youth as u are making it seem.

To me I see him as a coach who will guarantee a bid similar player starting shirt until the player fumbles and then he gives another person chance . He was using Smith Rowe last two seasons na.

The thing is it will be difficult for an academy player to burst into the scene under him but it’s not impossible . The player will need to prove himself first and then he will start seeing playing time. I think somebody pointed it out that Arteta and Klopp have a lot of similarities when it comes to their management style . It’s the same thing Klopp does at Loserpool . When senior players fumble , he gives youth player chance and from there their story change .

He should slowly implement them not starting them
Like giving them minutes from winning positions
I am sure if he didn’t meet saka and martinelli as made players they may not get the opportunity

Jodera:
Lol... How do I put it? Lemme see

White Is not a 50m defender ... Agreed

White wasn't what we needed since we have Saliba... Agreed

White probably wasn't Brighton best defender... Agreed

But we signed him so we have to move forward;

So the question I'm asking are:

1.. As a whole of his First season, Was he Very Average?(Ignore the 50m we spent on him or whether we needed him and look at solely his performance at the 2021/22 season). Was it an average performance?

2.. During Saliba's injury, would we have felt Saliba's absence much if White Is to stand in during Saliba's injury while Tomi played RB towards the deciding fixtures last season?

This are the two pertinent questions I'm asking that needs answers and I would love to hear your (and other arsenal) thoughts on these

NB: Blueray.dick said "YES" to the first question while "No" to the second question, While me and Mostob was a "No" and "YES" respectively.

You just buttress my point the more. White is not an average defender. If Arteta want to rest Saliba, he would do so without much tension. This is why I think he is benchable when required. Another example is Martinelli. With Trossard, we are covered so Martinelli too is benchable. Now compared this to the like of Gabby, Ramsdale and Saka. That's what I'm trying to say since.

Roland17:


We have gone 2 straight seasons without any serious integration while losing some good prospects. We went out to get Awilo and Marquinhos and both are not better than the prospects we loaned out last season, especially Patino. Last season, we were chasing Mudryk who has flopped and is not better than O. Hutchinson who is now with Chelsea. I hope to see Nwaneri and Myles during the preseason with hopes they can make the squad during cup competitions.

Azeez and patino are both strong cases because awilo and Marquinhos ain’t better than them

iamoyindamola:

He should slowly implement them not starting them
Like giving them minutes from winning positions
I am sure if he didn’t meet saka and martinelli as made players they may not get the opportunity

U need to understand that this past season was not a normal season . It’s a season we were hoping to make it back to the top 4 and suddenly we found ourselves challenging for the league .

I believe Arteta for most of the games was scared of bringing in young players who might crack under the pressure of our title challenge , hence the reason he didn’t give young players chance this last season . Remeber how Maquinors didn’t live up to expectations when he gave him chance previously ?

I hope to see more young players participating in the team this new season cos we will be playing more competitions and he will need those young players for cup matches

Roland17:
I am already worried about the future of our academy players and their ability to transition into the first team. This fear kept be checking on E. Nwaneri's contract situation and today, he signed his pro deal and committed to Arsenal. Nwaneri was courted heavily by Chelsea and City but I am glad he chose to continue with Arsenal. Nwaneri is pure talent with good prospects.
#COYG

iamoyindamola:

No offense to arteta but if he remains our manager for a long time our academy will die

Truth is that, it is a dicey situation.

Do we want to win whatever is available at all cost or we want to develop potential stars for future gain?

If we are pursuing medals, we cannot rely on our academy players that lack experience... once in a while one or 2 might break into the 1st team, but the only way they will make it will be to make instant impact like Saka when an opportunity called or go on loan to get the experience and make a case for themselves that they deserve a permanent shirt in the 1st eleven.

It is not peculiar to Arsenal.... You hardly find academy players easily breaking through into 1st 11 of all ambitious team in Europe. Like how many Academy players are in City or Madrid or Barca's squad?

That said, I am still looking out for the likes of Nwaneri, Patino and others breaking through eventually but they will not get it on a plater.

Spy360:

I don't think anyone is arguing that Saliba is better than White. The question Mostob is asking is if you were to risk a player among the four considering the quality of their backups who would it be?

Saka -Nelson
Gabriel -Kiwior
Ramsdale - Turner
Saliba - White

I think it would be Saliba all things being equal. Hence he is least untouchable. The most untouchable is Saka. It's like going from Porcshe to Camry.

As simple as this!!!
I don't really know why they turn everything to White vs Saliba. We're not even saying White should or can bench Saliba. Going by his first season, he is more than capable to deputise Saliba whenever the latter is absent. Finito

Shegzdave:

Are you sure about this??

Did you remember our defense line was the second best after Newcastle before Saliba went on injury, now check the difference with the loose goals Holding made us conceded just after Saliba went on injury and the our defense line after that, making Gabriel work too much for him in the defense line.

And you said Saliba isn’t important as the rest you mentioned?

Something worse would happen without Gabriel too even while playing Saliba. We slumped because we don't have a capable replacement. I don't think we would have been worse had it been Tomi was available. simple!

Saka was our X-factor at the final third. Who do you think would have replaced him?


Don't even get me started with Turner and Rammy.


Gabriel is as important as Saliba.

BlueRayDick:


U are just forming narratives in ur head and running with it. Nobody has said white is not good! White at CB for Arsenal was decent , by decent we mean he’s not bad.

Roland17 already settled the matter , u go and bring the number of man of the matches White has won as an arsenal player and he position he won them from. Let’s start from there , Since u insist he is very good .

I want them to tell me which Arsenal CB White will bench right now purely based on quality. I can make a legitimate case that Saliba and Gabu to an extent will make the first 11 of nearly all the top teams in the EPL including the new entrants like Newcastle. Can we make the same case for White? There is a reason I don't want to drag this debate because E go come be like say pesin dey hate on him own player.

He is a decent CB but he has never been our best player/ defender for a long stretch and that speaks a lot to his consistency/ impact. Remember when we paired Mari with White and the disaster that it panned out to be? No be pesin tell Arteta he returned Gabu to the first team to pair White because White was bad.