Alan Shearer has now claimed that one Arsenal player probably wouldn’t have been able to predict how his season unfolded this campaign.
Despite not quite reaching their ambition of winning the league, Mikel Arteta and his team made clear progress in a few areas.
First of all defensively, Arsenal boasted the best record in the league and Declan Rice made a huge difference protecting his defence even when in advanced midfield positions.
Offensively the Gunners also improved too, comfortably outperforming last year’s xG across the season and also scoring three more goals.
Kai Havertz deserves credit in that regard, given his false nine role transformed performances after Christmas.
And then there was Arsenal’s aura, they suddenly felt much more akin to Manchester City’s winning-machine, overcoming tough fixtures without exhausting themselves emotionally.
David Raya made a huge difference, providing an incredibly calm presence behind the defence, proving why he was an upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale – who’s block-buster style was seemingly deemed unsustainable by his manager.
Arsenal’s new signings were a success, but it was the transformation of one their existing players Alan Shearer celebrated in his Team of the Season.
Alan Shearer celebrates Ben White’s new inverted role at Arsenal in his Team of the Season
Shearer included five Arsenal players in his team, only choosing three from Manchester City.
And when justifying his selection of Ben White in defence, the pundit paid homage to the defender’s versatility, celebrating his new-found ability to invert into midfield.
Shearer explained: “He probably didn’t imagine at the start of the season that he would end up playing as an inverted full-back, but he took on that role brilliantly and got into dangerous areas with well-timed runs, alongside his defensive duties.”
Of course, White’s ability has often been mentioned in the past few days amid his omission from the England squad.
It was always expected given his fractious relationship with the current national team set-up, yet it doesn’t make it any less frustrating as a fan.
That being said, Shearer is right to praise White’s versatility when including him, especially considering that Arteta seemed to envision him as a centre-back early in the season.
The £50m-signing started Arsenal’s opening game of the season centrally, only to return to the right once Jurrien Timber suffered an unfortunate injury.
And with Timber available next season, and perhaps a new left-back signed, it will be interesting to see how Arteta constructs his back line – one he surely won’t want to disrupt too much.
All that being said, one Arsenal target certainly dazzled in last night’s Europa League final, and it seems as if he could be on the move.