Mikel Arteta will likely be doing a lot of experimenting in pre-season before deciding on his preferred Arsenal starting XI to take on Nottingham Forest on August 12. Kai Havertz already looks set for a significant role change in comparison to his time at Chelsea and two other Gunners players could be heading for a similar outcome.
The Germany international completed a £65 million move from Stamford Bridge to Emirates Stadium to become Arteta's first summer signing. Given his struggles when playing at the tip of the attack for the Blues, interest arriving from the Gunners did not initially make sense, however Arteta's plans to use him in an advanced midfield role to replace Granit Xhaka soon came to light.
Scoring goals has clearly been proven as not his strongest trait, but arriving late into the box, his defensive work rate and picking up positions between the lines are certainly attributes he has and can develop in north London.
Arteta is very keen to have versatile players at his disposal and that though process looks to have been shown by his next two transfer decisions. Joining Havertz in sealing a summer move will be Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber with Edu reaching a full agreement to acquire both on Wednesday for a combined total of £143.5m.
Following negotiations lasting nearly a week to finalise the payment structure for Rice, it has been agreed that £100m in guaranteed funds will head the way of West Ham over three instalments paid within the next 24 months. As for Timber, football.london understands a £38.5m deal is in place to sign the Netherlands international.
Last summer, Timber was one of Manchester United's central defensive targets, however Timber then played the majority of the 2022/23 season at right-back for Ajax but he often came central to give them an extra body in midfield. Arteta's desire to use inverted full-backs almost definitely played into his thoughts when deciding upon the defensive addition to sign, but it could present a fresh problem for Ben White.
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Squad depth will be crucial for Arsenal in the 2023/24 season with a return to the Champions League accompanying their pursuit of domestic silverware. However, White's tactical differences to Timber could see him faced with the issue Kieran Tierney had last season where gaining first-team minutes was a significant challenge.
Thankfully for White he is extremely versatile and can also play in the centre of defence but Arteta could have a completely different idea of how to use the 25-year-old which will have a knock-on affect for Rice.
Speaking to talkSPORT, journalist Alex Crook put forward an interesting tactical idea which would see all three remain in Arteta's first-choice team. “I’m interested to see what happens with Ben White because we know they’re going to bring in Jurrien Timber," he said.
"I think he might move up to a sort of John Stones midfield role, I wouldn’t rule that out. So, he might well be the holding midfielder and that will enable Declan Rice to go further forward.” White has been deployed in central midfield before when he was playing for Brighton, while Rice has also proven he can make an impact in the final third with his scintillating goal in the Europa Conference League against Gent further showcasing that fact.
Timber and Oleksandr Zinchenko being the designated full-backs could also give Arteta the tactical flexibility to see them both invert. White could then head back into defence, like how Stones does for Manchester City, to form a back three alongside William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
