Premier League leaders Arsenal are back in action against relegation-threatened Everton at the Emirates Stadium this evening, with the Gunners looking for swift redemption after suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sean Dyche’s side just a few weeks ago.

That clash at Goodison Park – which was the former Burnley man’s first game in charge of the hosts – saw a James Tarkowski header ultimately prove the difference on the day, with Mikel Arteta’s men suffering a momentary wobble in their title charge after subsequently being held by Brentford and losing to rivals Manchester City following that defeat on Merseyside.

The north Londoners have since recovered with wins over both Aston Villa and Leicester City – affording them the chance to move points clear at the summit with victory tonight – although there will undoubtedly be fears of being undone again by the Toffees.

Although Arteta will likely be keen to forget the reverse fixture, the Spaniard may have that previous meeting on his mind when selecting his starting lineup later today, with versatile defender Ben White one man who could make way, following his horror show at Goodison.

Will Ben White play against Everton?

The 25-year-old – who signed from Brighton and Hove Albion on a £50m deal back in 2021 – produced arguably his “worst performance of the season” in that loss to Dyche’s men, according to journalist Jason Soutar, having struggled up against the lively Dwight McNeil, who provided three key passes and laid on 11 crosses as a marker of his joy down the left flank.

Having gone into the match off the back of his woes against Manchester United – in which the full-back was axed at half-time in the eventual 3-2 win – the Englishman was again something of a liability against the Toffees, notably giving the ball away ‘far too often’, according to football.london’s Kaya Kaynak.

That was evidenced by the fact that the one-time Leeds United man lost possession on 12 occasions during his 85-minute outing, having at one stage inadvertently given the ball to opposition midfielder Amadou Onana early in the first half, with the Belgian colossus nearly teeing up Dominic Calvert-Lewin with an inviting pullback.

White’s struggles were also laid bare by the fact that he failed to win any of his three aerial duels – winning two of his three ground duels – having also been unable to offer much in an attacking sense after making no key passes and providing just one, unsuccessful cross in total.

As a result, the £120k-per-week gem ultimately received a rather lowly 6.5 match rating, as per Sofascore, with that the joint-lowest of any starting player for the Gunners, alongside both Gabriel Martinelli and Aaron Ramsdale.

The concern will be for Arteta that the Poole-born defender – who also won just three of his eight duels against the Foxes last time out and lost possession 13 times – could put in a repeat performance this time around, with Dyche no doubt set to target a player who proved something of a weak link in the reverse fixture.

While White’s potential replacement Takehiro Tomiyasu hardly covered himself in glory against Man City earlier this month – having inexplicably teed up Kevin De Bruyne with an errant back pass – it could be the case that the Japan international is handed another chance to impress this evening on the right side of the defence.