Journalist Sam Dean has now predicted that Mikel Arteta will make one surprise selection decision when Arsenal face Aston Villa on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta is going to have to manage his Arsenal squad carefully over the coming week.
The Gunners have an all-important Premier League fixture on Sunday against Aston Villa. Arteta will view this as a must-win match in the context of the North London club’s Premier League title hopes.
Arsenal are currently sat at the top of the table, but only by the slimmest of margins, with Liverpool and Manchester City breathing down their neck. A single slip up could be fatal in the title race.
Jamie Carragher’s points target that he believes will be enough to see Arsenal crowned champions leaves almost no margin for error.
However, the Gunners are also still competing in the Champions League, and will contest the second-leg of their quarter-final showdown with Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
In order to successfully negotiate this tricky period, with games coming thick and fast, Arteta will need to rest and rotate some of his key players whenever he can.
Mikel Arteta encouraged to rest Ben White v Aston Villa
With that in mind, Sam Dean has suggested that Takehiro Tomiyasu will take the place of Ben White at right-back in the starting XI on Sunday.
Speaking on The Arsenal Beat podcast, the reporter said, “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Tomiyasu came in for Ben White for this one. White has played a lot of minutes recently, and covered a lot of ground…I think there’d be a good argument to playing Tomiyasu in Munich, given what happened on the wings to Kiwior…So I think it would make sense to give Tomiyasu some minutes.
White has certainly played a lot of football this season. Jurrien Timber’s long-term injury and Tomiyasu’s recurring fitness issues have forced the full-back to have to play even when he could really have used a rest. The 26-year-old has had to play through pain on plenty of occasions.
How Arsenal can prepare Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for Bayern Munich trip
Former teammate Rob Holding has previously called White a “mentality monster” for his ability to play in spite of being injured. White was recently hailed by his Arsenal colleagues for his “warrior” spirit.
The right-back has also been in fine form this season, and has shown that he can step up when the club really need him. For instance, White was the only Arsenal defender who looked truly composed and confident in the first half against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
However, it is vital that Arteta rests the £50 million former Brighton man when he can. It is also important to get some minutes into Tomiyasu’s legs. The Japan international has barely played this season, but he could be needed to start next week in Munich.
Jakub Kiwior struggled against the German giants in the first-leg, whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko may not be trusted enough defensively for this away fixture.
Tomiyasu has the versatility to play both full-back roles. If he can build up his fitness at right-back against Aston Villa, affording White a rest at the same time, and then the duo can start together in Germany then that would be ideal for Arteta.
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