Granit Xhaka's medial cruciate ligament injury has sidelined the 29-year-old for approximately three months which has forced Mikel Arteta to nurse Arsenal's blow in midfield.
The Switzerland international suffered his recent knee injury following a collision with Lucas Moura in the north London derby after having just made the first steps to redeeming himself to the Gooners faithful.
Arsenal's number 34 was recklessly sent off in Manchester City's five-goal demolition over the Gunners, leaving many fans furious with Xhaka.
He then responded excellently against Tottenham but his redemption was short lived and now Arteta must devise his next tactical ploy to plug the Swiss' absence.
Thankfully for Arteta, Ben White, who has previously enjoyed operating as a holding midfielder, was omitted from Gareth Southagate's England squad ahead of the international break, opening various doors to various avenues of experiments.
Guy Clarke, The Arsenal Way multimedia producer, spoke with Richard Mills, Sussex Live and football.london Brighton correspondent, to delve into the prospect of White plugging Xhaka's absence in midfield as the youngster's versatility arms the Gunners' armoury with additional artillery, on The Arsenal Way show via YouTube.
Mills recalled the man of the match display in which White operated as a holding midfielder for the Seagulls, before going on to detail the 23-year-old's ability to also feature in a double pivot - a system Arteta has used in the past.
White, who swapped the Emirates for the Amex in a £50 million move over the summer, has featured as a six on several occasions across his career at Leeds United, Newport County, but predominantly at Brighton.
"There was a game White played fantastically in at defensive midfield when Bissouma was out, against his old club Leeds," Mills said.
"He was man of the match on that day. He has played alongside Bissouma because Bissouma is more of a box-to-box midfielder."
Mills continued by detailing how White would setup under Arteta and which player he would compliment best in a double pivot.
He said: "White would be a deep-lying midfielder, sitting back and then progressively get forward but not as far as Bissouma. I think there is a possibility he could play alongside Thomas Partey."
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