Ben White and the Arsenal Defence
New Arsenal signing Ben White is valued at just 4.5m in Fantasy Premier League and it’s no surprise that he’s already been selected by 25% of FPL managers.
Despite finishing outside the European places in 8th last season, in terms of goals conceded Arsenal had the third-best defence in the league in 2020-21 campaign, having conceded 39 — behind Man City (32) and Chelsea (36).
This wasn’t all down to hogging possession either. Despite Mikel Arteta’s schooling under Pep Guardiola, Arsenal averaged just 54% possession in their games last season, much lower than Man City, Liverpool, and Chelsea who all averaged over 60%.
So some of it was down to a good defensive setup, and they were also joint 5th in the league for clean sheets (12) along with Liverpool, Everton, Brighton, Spurs, and Leeds.
Arsenal also had the fifth-lowest expected goals (xG) against last season, behind Man City, Chelsea, Brighton, and Man United (FBRef)
They aren't a guaranteed clean sheet (who is?), but if Arteta can make his side more comfortable and effective in possession it would mean they have less defending to do.
The addition of White for £50m from Brighton will be designed to help them defensively but also make them more secure in possession. He is effectively a midfielder in the centre of a back four in a similar mould to David Luiz but, they hope, without the costly errors (although when a defender is playing such a high-risk game, there is always the potential for such errors).
Increased time on the ball for the team means the opposite for the opposition, and you can’t score if you don’t have the ball. Arsenal will have to be wary of getting caught on the counter, but there’s a chance they could go another season with fewer than 40 goals conceded.
White’s hefty transfer fee means he’s likely to be a regular starter. After all, there’s no point spending that much on a player and benching him.
Although Arteta leaving White out in the opening game after so many managers have picked him would be Typical FPL. Is this something else he will borrow from Guardiola?
The 4.5m fee is among the lowest in FPL for a player who should play regularly for a club expected to finish in the European places. The others being his teammate Rob Holding, and Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana, with the latter sadly sidelined through injury until 2022.
Kostas Tsimikas could be another such bargain to look at early in the season, the 4.0m-valued Greek looks set to deputise for the injured Andy Robertson for at least the first few games before the international break, and has impressed in pre-season for Liverpool.
Arsenal open their season against newly promoted Brentford on Friday, giving FPL managers an early deadline to watch out for in the first round - 18:30 on Friday evening.