Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has the best kind of selection dilemma on his hands for the 2022-23 season, as three top-class central defenders seek to establish themselves at the top of the Emirates food chain.
With Auston Trusty's signing beneficial to player rather than club, Pablo Mari expected to leave and Rob Holding seemingly set to continue his role of shutting up shop from the bench, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White could be fighting for just two spots in the Arsenal defence.
White and Gabriel was Arteta's tried-and-tested centre-back formula last term, and the pair complemented each other well. Their partnership did not help Arsenal secure Champions League football, but 13 clean sheets is nothing to be sniffed at.
Meanwhile, Saliba showed Arsenal what they were missing with a sensational season at Marseille, winning the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year, and he has already impressed Arteta in pre-season.
With Arteta declaring that Saliba is "ready" to make his competitive bow for the club, Sports Mole provides a statistical comparison of the Arsenal trio - using figures from their 2021-22 league campaigns - and looks at how the Gunners should line up at the back next term.
Ben White
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Arsenal chiefs bore the brunt of criticism from rival fans and some home supporters after forking out £50m to sign Ben White in 2021, but the 24-year-old has taken to the red and white of Arsenal like a duck takes to water.
With David Luiz long gone, the addition of a ball-playing centre-back who could break the lines and maraud forward was of paramount importance, and White played that role to a tee in 2021-22.
The Englishman's versatility will always come in handy too - whether he is required to fill in at right-back for the injury-prone Takehiro Tomiyasu or enjoy the occasional shift in the holding midfield role as he did for Brighton.
Therefore, it is no surprise to see WhoScored statistics show that White ranked highest out of the three in key passes per game with 0.4, but his pass completion percentage of 84.6% is actually the lowest out of the three.
Further back, White also posted the best aerial statistics with 1.9 duels won per game, as well as making the most clearances and blocks per game with 3.2 and 0.8 respectively.
The 24-year-old can also boast the cleanest disciplinary record out of the three with just three yellow cards in the 2021-22 Premier League season, and his ability to play in a multitude of roles will always appeal to Arteta.
Gabriel Magalhaes
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As the only out-and-out left-footed centre-back on this list, Gabriel Magalhaes already has that going for him when it comes to Arteta's selection dilemma, and his performances over the past couple of years are believed to have led to interest from the likes of Barcelona and Juventus.
However, it is easy to see why Arsenal have no intention of letting the 24-year-old leave, as he has started to get noticed by Brazil manager Tite and provides the greatest attacking threat out of this trio.
Gabriel found the back of the net five times in the Premier League last season - one more than striker and former club captain Alexandre Lacazette - while he also posted the most shots per game and was dispossessed on the fewest number of occasions.
The former Lille man has become renowned for an aggressive and sometimes risky style of play, as he is never afraid to venture out of Arsenal's defensive shape if there is a ball to be won, but such a strategy will always leave a wealth of space in behind for attackers to exploit if he misjudges a challenge.
Furthermore, Gabriel gifted Hwang Hee-chan a goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers and was needlessly sent off against Manchester City in a turn of events that arguably cost the Gunners the game on New Year's Day.
Gabriel does not come out on top in any defensive statistics from last term, but he did post a far better pass accuracy than White of 89.5% compared to his counterpart's 84.6% in three more league matches.
William Saliba
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Still waiting for his competitive debut for Arsenal three years after penning his contract in North London, Saliba has been sending a clear selection message to Arteta for a while now.
Jorge Sampaoli - who allegedly left Marseille over their failure to sign Saliba permanently - immediately placed his faith in Saliba and was rewarded, as the France international was a rock at the back for Les Olympiens.
There is no better place to start with Saliba than his passing. A total of 2865 completed passes - as documented by FBRef - was by far the most out of any player in Ligue 1 last term. For comparison, Paris Saint-Germain's Marquinhos came in second with 2231.
Saliba completed a total of 93.7% of his passes in the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season, putting him well clear of both White and Gabriel and fourth in Ligue 1 behind Presnel Kimpembe, Thilo Kehrer and Danilo Pereira, who all played far fewer minutes.
The Frenchman ranked lower than White and Gabriel in long balls and key passes per 90, which perhaps demonstrates that he would be utilised best as a defender who can retain possession and slow the game down rather than try to progress the ball up the field.
Interestingly, Saliba did rank highest with 0.9 dribbles per game, and his defensive contributions also stand out head and shoulders above White and Gabriel, as he ranks highest in tackles (1.5pg), interceptions (1.3pg) and offsides won (0.9pg).
On a slightly more negative note, Saliba did win the fewest amount of aerial duels and made the most unsuccessful touches per game, but he has time on his side with a three-year age gap to White and Gabriel.
Return to a back three?
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The options are seemingly endless for Arteta. The Spaniard could simply stick with the White-Gabriel pairing from last season, which would also help goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for familiarity reasons.
None of Saliba, White or Gabriel arguably deserve to be starting on the bench, and as a result, a return to a three-man defence has been suggested for Arteta after that formula helped Arsenal on their way to FA Cup glory in 2020.
Such a setup would see Saliba, Gabriel and White all bring their differing qualities to the backline, with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney/Oleksandr Zinchenko featuring in the wing-back areas.
However, Arteta would likely struggle to sacrifice a midfielder or attacker in favour of three centre-backs, and keeping players fresh for the Europa League must be taken into account - Tierney and Tomiyasu's fitness records hardly make for pleasant reading.
Arteta may not have to switch to a three-man defence to get each member of the trio into his starting XI, with White always ready to move out to the right as Saliba and Gabriel pair up in front of Ramsdale.
Throughout the 2021-22 season, the emergency Rob Holding 5-2-3 protocol has been enacted when the Gunners need to hold on to a slender lead in the latter stages of the contest, so there is no reason why a similar system cannot come into play with a different name.
Verdict
If pre-season is anything to go by, Saliba will not be kept waiting for his competitive debut this time around, and the former Saint-Etienne youngster is almost like a new signing for the Gunners.
However, should Arteta fail to keep Saliba happy in the first couple of weeks of the season, the France international may still have lingering doubts as to whether his long-term future lies in North London.
Saliba will also be in desperate need of regular game time ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and with Arsenal also trying to tie him down to a new contract beyond 2024, Arteta would do well to integrate him into the first XI immediately.
Statistically speaking, White is the obvious choice to start alongside the Frenchman. While Saliba can dictate the tempo from the back and play the simple passes to perfection - as well as being a positionally sound and strong defensive player - White will be ready to launch the ball up the field if need be.
Gabriel is a wonderful defender on his day, and his left-footedness will always come in handy, but the Brazilian is still prone to the odd rush of blood to the head, and the finest of margins can prove costly at the top level.
Ben Knapton
