Arsenal have been dealt a blow with the news that defender Ben White will be out for “a few months” because of surgery on a knee, according to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
"It’s been different kind of struggles," Arteta told the Arsenal website. "It’s never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision in the last few weeks, unfortunately.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point where we had to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that, and obviously it will keep him out for a few months. We have to see how he reacts post-surgery, I don't expect him to be out for half a season or year but I cannot tell you exactly [how long]."
How Arsenal do without White
Arsenal’s average points have not suffered in the matches that they have played without White since he joined in the 2021/22 season.
The Gunners average 2.1 points per match with him in the team, and 2.0 without. However, in the nine Premier League matches White has missed, the rate of their average goals conceded climbs from 1.0 to 1.9, while they concede more shots on average (11.2 per match compared with 9.8 with him playing).
Arsenal stats with/without White in PL (since 2021/22)
| With White | Stat | Without White |
| 116 | Matches | 9 |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | Wins | 6 |
| 18 | Draws | 0 |
| 23 | Losses | 3 |
| 239 | Goals for | 19 |
| 2.1 | Ave. goals for | 2.1 |
| 115 | Goals against | 17 |
| 1.0 | Ave. goals against | 1.9 |
| 64.7% | Win % | 66.7% |
| 2.1 | Points/match | 2.0 |
| 9.8 | Shots conceded/match | 11.2 |
Tomiyasu return delayed too
It comes as Arteta has had to deal with a number of injuries, especially among his defence. As well as White, Arteta confirmed that Takehiro Tomiyasu "is going to be out as well" due to a knee injury, having made only one appearance this season.
Better news is that fellow defender Riccardo Calafiori will return from injury to the squad for the match at home to Nottingham Forest.
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who both withdrew from England duty this past fortnight for fitness reasons, are also in line to return to action on Saturday. "They have had their first partial session today, so very good as well," Arteta added.
Striving to end poor run
Arsenal go into the Forest match on a four-match winless run in the Premier League that has left them nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
Forest have impressed on the road this season, with the second-best record among the 20 clubs, having yet to lose away and beating Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.
"They’ve been really good, really consistent," said Arteta, who will be taking charge of his 250th match at Arsenal. "They’ve been tough against the best opposition especially, so big credit to Nuno [Espirito Santo] and the coaching staff for what they’re doing.
"They’re very clear with their intentions on how they manage to take the game the way they want. I’m really impressed with how they’ve done."
