Leicestervs.Arsenal

Arteta confirmed in Friday's pre-Leicester City press conference that the Englishman is in line to make his first appearance since November when the Gunners take on the Foxes in Saturday's early Premier League kickoff.

White has spent the last three months recovering from a knee operation, but he returned to full team training in Dubai and is in with a strong chance of making the matchday squad this weekend, even if a start is out of the question.

However, simply having White fit and available again is a "huge boost" for Arsenal, Watts has stressed, as the 27-year-old can offer an alternative solution at right-back and centre-back if Jurrien Timber or William Saliba need a rest, while also combining effectively with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka up front.

"Arsenal have missed him, no doubt about it, that right-hand side has missed him," Watts said. "Timber is a fantastic player, but you want Ben White as well to be an option. You can rotate the two, you can rotate Saliba by moving Timber inside or White inside and playing one of them at right back.

Watts: 'White return gives Arsenal so many other options'

"It just gives you so many other options. He's such a good player. And he's so important to Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka when he comes back. So it'll be a huge boost to have him back.

"As long as he's not suffered any ill effects from this week and coming back to full training, then I fully expect him to be in the squad. I don't think he'd start the game, but he'll certainly be on the bench if he gets the all clear from the medics this week."

White's imminent comeback represents a small silver lining in an otherwise thick storm cloud of Arsenal fitness news, as the Gunners are still without another five players for Saturday's clash with the Foxes, including fellow right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of a season-ending knee operation.

Kai Havertz has already been sent for his own season-ending procedure on the torn hamstring he sustained in Dubai, joining Gabriel Jesus (ACL), Saka (hamstring) and Gabriel Martinelli (hamstring) on the attacking absentee list to put a significant dampener on the warm-weather training camp.

Arsenal's mid-season trip to the Middle East last year sparked a remarkable run of form where they won 16 of their last 18 Premier League games of the season, and the Gunners' trip could arguably not have come at a better time after their 4-0 aggregate defeat to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-finals.

However, while Watts is keeping his fingers crossed that the Dubai stopover did Arsenal "the world of good", he has warned fans not to place bets on another "magical" run akin to the first half of 2024.

Watts: 'We should see a different Arsenal after Dubai'

"It's been a costly trip," Watts added. "As soon as Newcastle scored, focus turned to Dubai, because that was obviously game over. Had Odegaard scored a minute before that, I think you would have seen a very different Arsenal, it would have been interesting to see how that game panned out. But from the moment, it was 1-0 Newcastle, it was game, set and match.

"It was just a case of let's get on the plane and get to Dubai as quickly as possible. I think there's a lot of pressure on Dubai, because of what happened last year. It's like this magical thing where Arsenal suddenly were awful, couldn't score a goal, couldn't create a chance, went to Dubai, came back and were just a different team.

"There's a pressure on that now has to happen again and that it will happen again. Football doesn't work like that, unfortunately. But hopefully it would have done the players a world of good. They definitely needed it. I know they love it over there. Arteta loves it over there.

"Hopefully we'll see a much more refreshed Arsenal when they do come back. I think it's going to be a different Arsenal. It has to be a different Arsenal because of the lack of Kai Havertz."

Arteta has not ruled out signing a free agent to replace Havertz, whose lengthy layoff comes at a time where Arsenal are seven points below Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.

However, the Reds dropped two points in Wednesday's enthralling 2-2 Merseyside derby draw with Everton, where Watts believes Arsenal would have been treated differently by two prominent pundits had they shown the same sort of explosive post-match behaviour that Arne Slot and co did.

Written by

Ben Knapton