Bukayo Saka looks revitalised after injury, and with Ben White behind him, Arsenal’s right-hand side is once again their most dangerous route forward.
Bukayo Saka has been eased back into Arsenal’s starting XI gradually since returning from injury at the end of April, but he is making every minute count.
He only played the first half against Fulham last weekend but tormented them throughout, setting up the opener with some mesmeric wide play before smashing home Arsenal’s second. Those involvements ended a seven-game run without a goal or assist.
Against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday night he lasted a little longer, just shy of the hour mark, and produced the game’s decisive moment, scoring the winning goal on the stroke of half-time.
It was his ninth Champions League goal at the Emirates, a tally only Robin van Persie (13) and Theo Walcott (10) have bettered for Arsenal in the competition.
Mikel Arteta is still carefully managing Saka’s minutes as he recovers from a nagging Achilles injury, and his star man looks much sharper for it. Saka has been Arsenal’s standout player in both the league win over Fulham and the seismic European battle with Atlético, offering an end product few of his teammates can match.
What’s notable, though, is that in both of those games, Ben White has been the man behind him at full-back. The pair have a strong connection. After all, White has started more Premier League games alongside Saka (111) than with any other player, and they read each other’s movements well.
With Saka on the pitch against Fulham and Atlético, Arsenal’s ball progression came heavily down the right-hand side. This is not a new phenomenon for Arsenal when Saka is on song, but they have been slightly less right-side dominant this season given the Englishman’s sporadic form.
Against Atlético in the second leg, Saka received more passes from White (8) than from any other teammate. The pattern was similar against Fulham, where the White-to-Saka connection (9) was the most frequent route into him.
It’s not exactly surprising to see full-back-to-winger passing combinations rank highly; full-backs routinely play the ball up the line to the winger ahead of them. But White’s pass map above is interesting and shows a couple of genuinely penetrative balls that opened space either behind or in front of the Atlético defence.
The first came with White in possession midway inside the Atlético half. Diego Simeone’s side are in a narrow block, but Saka is about to blow it open. He drops short before spinning in behind. White finds him with a slide-rule pass.
White also looked to find Saka coming inside off his wing. The pair combined just after the half-hour mark, with Saka darting inside to receive in plenty of space just outside the Atlético box.
For most of the season, Saka has started with Jurriën Timber behind him (20 games). Timber has been excellent for Arsenal and was effectively ever-present at right-back until his ankle injury in March, which has kept him out for the last 11 matches.
For all his qualities, though, his passing dynamic with Saka has not been quite as productive as the one with White. Some of that comes down to Saka’s own form, of course. It is not a one-way relationship.
That said, in the Premier League this season, Saka has received more passes from Timber (177) than from anyone else. Yet despite receiving just 40 passes from White, across only four starts together, White’s passes to Saka have generated almost exactly the same xG (0.43 to 0.41). What’s more, White’s passes to Saka are significantly more dangerous, with White finding him with progressive passes at roughly twice the rate of Timber.
Last month, we looked at whether Arsenal needed to rotate more to ease the load on a few fatigued first-team regulars. One player we highlighted was Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has stepped into midfield in place of Martín Zubimendi across the last two matches and performed impressively. Another was White, who had often been an unused substitute for much of the earlier part of the campaign.
Arteta’s hand may have been forced by Timber’s injury, but White has stepped in and picked up the slack. He may not offer Timber’s physicality, versatility or set-piece threat, but when it comes to getting the best out of Saka, Arsenal’s biggest threat, he might just have the edge. With Arsenal on the brink of making this one of the greatest seasons in the club’s history, that could prove crucial.
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