Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is going to be out for “months” after undergoing a procedure on his knee during the international break, according to The Athletic.
White played the full game in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea before the break but he has been dealing with multiple issues since the start of the season.
The 27-year-old has been a virtual ever-present when fit over the past two seasons but he started on the bench against Manchester City in September and then missed the next two fixtures.
Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey have played at right back in his absence and Arteta will now need to call on the duo during a busy festive schedule.
Speaking in Friday’s presser Arteta said:“Ben is gonna be out for months, unfortunately. It’s been different kinds of struggles. It’s never been the same thing. We had to make a decision. It’s not been improving in the last few weeks, unfortunately.
“We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and unfortunately, that’s going to keep him out for a few months.”
Arteta could not confirm exactly how long White will be missing for.
“I don’t know at the moment. We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don’t expect him to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly.”
White being out for this length of time is a blow for Arsenal, just as it felt they were getting the majority of their squad back fit.
The chemistry down the right flank is fundamental to Arsenal’s attacking play and it has already been disrupted by Martin Odegaard’s ankle ligament injury which kept him out for two months.
Arteta would have hoped to have his trusted trio — White, Odegaard and Bukayo Saka — available for a prolonged period of time but White’s injury now forces him to recalibrate his thinking.
Full-back has been an area in which injuries have dogged Arsenal most often this season with Timber, Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu all missing games through injury, or the entire season so far in the case of the latter two.
