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There was a lot of positives to take away for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta following yesterday’s win at Nottingham Forest but for some players, things are looking a touch more dire.
The Gunners managed to get over the line thanks to a late winner from Noni Madueke, who saw his deflected effort find its way into the Forest net to seal three points.
Once again, it was Arsenal’s defence who ensured that the foundation was laid for the win.
But while everyone in that back four deserves credit for the win yesterday, for Ben White, it might be end of his run of starts at right-back.
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Noni Madueke is the matchwinner on the day for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest 😅 Give us your reaction to that performance
While it’s not a criticism of Ben White and he’s not in the team to provide the sort of attacking threat that Jurrien Timber does, the difference when the Dutchman came on was obvious.
The immediate impact of Timber being on instead of White was apparent right from the moment he came on.
Time and again, Timber got up in support of Bukayo Saka and it was from a run and then cut inside that Arsenal created a golden chance for Declan Rice, as Timber brilliantly put the ball on a plate for the England man.
Indeed, Timber continued to be a menace and prior to Noni Madueke’s winner, he put in three crosses from the byline which caused problems in the Nottingham Forest back-line.
Of course, Timber was brought on to do damage in the final third and everyone who watches Arsenal knows that he does that much better than Ben White.
However, with Timber clearly now back up to speed and producing as he did yesterday, it’s now obvious who the main man at right-back has to be.
White will have his role to play over the course of the season. But right now, Timber has to play.