Ben White replaced William Saliba for Arsenal vs Liverpool (Photos by Marco Luzzani, Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Liverpool may have been surprised by Ben White’s pass from the defense today which he brought to the team Arsenal striker Bukayo Saka’s first goal.
White doesn’t normally play as a centre-back at Arsenal, but he had to start there for Mikel Arteta’s side today as William Saliba was suspended following last weekend’s red card against Bournemouth.
Still, watch below as Arsenal-focused Telegraph reporter Sam Dean points out on X, formerly Twitter, that White’s pass to Saka wasn’t necessarily the type of ball Saliba would have played, so maybe end up being a blessing in disguise for Arsenal as Liverpool didn’t expect…
Very interested in that Ben White pass for Bukayo Saka’s goal. Not sure William Saliba would have played that pass from that position? Different players, different skills, etc. Maybe Liverpool didn’t expect it.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) October 27, 2024
Arsenal have a lot of depth in their squad these days, and it’s quite remarkable that, at least so far, they haven’t missed Saliba too much, although the France international is world-class and usually a very important player for to the team
White is another quality player even if he is not at his best, so he is not a bad option for Arteta to rely on while Saliba is out.
Arsenal face more defensive problems against Liverpool
As well as Saliba’s absence, Arsenal are also without Gabriel Magalhaes as he limped off early in the second half to be replaced by Jakub Kiwior.
This could end up being a long second half for the Gunners, but as the clean pass for Saka’s goal proved, you never know what other qualities you can get from the player who replaces your first choice.
Arsenal have done well so far to mainly dominate this game, although they were perhaps a bit more suspect defensively than usual when Virgil van Dijk headed home a corner for LFC early in the game.
luckily, Bukayo Saka is back from injury to start today’s gameso the attacking threat remains for the home side as they chase three important points.
