Welcome to The Radar. Nick Wright’s Sky Sports column combines data and opinion to highlight must-know stories from the top and bottom of the Premier League. this week:
🔴 White’s Service Unlocks Saka
⚒️Mavropanos is a goal threat for the Hammers
🔍 Players to watch this weekend
Saka benefits from reunion with whites
Ben White and Bukayo Saka exchanged rapid-fire passes during first-half stoppage time between Arsenal and Fulham at the Emirates Stadium, prompting applause from the home fans as three white-shirted defenders chased them.
A series of plays carried out in tight spaces on the right flank allowed Arsenal to retain possession and maintain pressure on the visiting team. This also showed an example of the chemistry that makes Whyte and Saka uniquely valuable as a pairing.
Injuries have severely limited their chances to play together over the past two seasons, with Mikel Arteta favoring Julian Timber at right-back. The game against Fulham was the first Premier League start for both players since December.
Their reunion helps explain Saka’s return to form. After contributing a goal and an assist against Fulham, the 24-year-old sent Arsenal into the Champions League final as winners against Atletico Madrid, with White once again selected behind him.
Their furious passing in stoppage time against Fulham is just one example of their mutual understanding. His next goal arrived just minutes later, as he combined with Declan Rice in his own half to find his way out of tight spaces.
This time it led to a goal. The pass from Saka to Gabriel Magalhães was high-risk, but allowed Arsenal to move the ball to the other side of the pitch, where Leandro Trossard darted forward to cross and there was space for Victor Goqueres to head in his third goal.
Saka exchanged 14 passes with White before being sent off at half-time. The right-back’s total of nine passes to Saka was the most of any player in the game and just one behind Timber’s total in his last three starts after Saka before his injury in March.
The two continued their form against Atletico Madrid.
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Backpage team analyzes Bukayo Saka’s role in the match against Atletico Madrid
Once again, White made more passes to Saka than any other player before being sent off in the 58th minute, converting eight of them, showing for the second time in four days the team’s strong bond.
Arsenal’s attacking third highlights how much of a threat they were on the right in both matches when Saka and Whyte were on the pitch together compared to later on.
Since the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season, when White switched from center back to right-back, he and Saka have exchanged passes 19.6 times per 90 minutes, an average significantly higher than Timber and Saka’s 12.4 passes per 90 minutes.
White’s absence is not the only factor in Saka’s decline this season. Arteta said Saka had previously had to fight back from a serious hamstring injury, but had only recently overcome the effects of an Achilles injury sustained in March.
But the clear difference in service with White compared to Timber shows what Saka is missing. No one understands Saka’s running style better than White.
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4:30pm kickoff
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2023, he said: “I kind of get it.” “I don’t really know why, but I look up and I know what he’s going to do and where he’s going.”
“They have a really good connection and understanding,” Arteta added on Friday. “They have been playing together for years and you can feel and notice that in a very positive way.”
There are also stylistic elements. White has been more active than Timber in Arsenal’s build-up, averaging significantly more touches and passes.
He also has a braver, sharper delivery. Since moving to right-back in the 2022/23 season, White’s forward pass success rate is 38.9 per cent, significantly higher than Timber. In fact, this is the best record of any Arsenal outfield player during this period.
White also contributes to Saka by making overlapping runs at a higher rate than Timber, dragging defenders in and leaving him one-on-one with the winger. “That’s what I’m supposed to do,” he added in 2023. “I’m here to help him get into a position where he can do what he’s good at.”
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How Arsenal’s advancement to the Champions League final will affect England
All of this adds up to make Saka a more powerful attacker. Over the past four Premier League seasons, Saka has averaged nearly 20 per cent more goals and assists when starting for the Whites compared to the Timbers, with 0.67 goals and 0.57 goals per 90 minutes respectively.
But White has only recently rediscovered his form. Timber, who also moved from center back to right back, was excellent in that role until he was sidelined due to injury.
He may not share the same chemistry as Saka, or be as skilled in possession as White, but he has shown considerable improvement over the past two seasons as he has adapted to the on-ball demands of the position.
He also brings valuable strengths of his own. The Dutch international is a huge threat from set-piece situations and as a one-on-one defender few players can match. His defensive solidity at right-back helps to further enhance an already strong defensive unit.
For Arteta, these qualities are likely to give Timber an advantage over White in the direct selection of the two to face Paris Saint-Germain’s Hviča Kvaratschelia in the Champions League final.
But if he wants to get the best out of Arsenal’s best attacking player, it would be his old partner White who has a stronger case.
Mavropanos becomes a goal threat
Before Arsenal turn their attention to the Champions League final, they have to deal with the small issue of Premier League disarray. He continues on Super Sunday at West Ham, where he faces former player Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The 28-year-old had the misfortune of scoring an own goal in West Ham’s game against Brentford last weekend, but the result could have been different had his header, which should have been an equaliser, been narrowly offside moments later.
His shot map shows high concentration from inside the 6-yard box
Although the goal was disallowed, it was yet another reminder of his potential from set-pieces. Mavropanos has scored three set-piece goals in his last six Premier League games, and his underlying numbers indicate the level of threat he poses to rival Arsenal defenders.
Arsenal were reminded of that firsthand when they smashed a stunning header past David Raya from a James Ward-Prowse corner during West Ham’s win at the Emirates Stadium in December 2023. The Hammers will aim to sign him again at the London Stadium.
Player Radar: Other Players to Watch
Newcastle’s William Osula has scored three goals in four Premier League games and will face Nottingham Forest on Sunday. The 22-year-old also gave William Saliba a tough afternoon in the only game in which he failed to find the back of the net.
Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?
Man City and Brentford face off on Saturday Night Football, with Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event coverage beginning at 5pm, ahead of kick-off at 5.30pm.
Burnley v Aston Villa, Crystal Palace v Everton and Nottingham Forest v Newcastle will all be broadcast live on Sky Sports from 2pm on Super Sunday, before West Ham and Arsenal face off at the London Stadium, kicking off at 4.30pm.
On Monday Night Football, Spurs take on Leeds at 8pm, with Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event coverage starting at 6:30pm.
Read last week’s Radar column
In my last column, I assessed Bruno Fernandes’ chances of breaking Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry’s Premier League assist record before he took the field, adding another in Manchester United’s win over Liverpool. All we need now is one more thing.
