Benjamin White is headed to the World Cup. Let's invent a bullshit new statistic to see where he ranks among the world's best full-backs
A deep-dive into what makes him special
“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say, you’re Mr. White. You have a cool-sounding name.” — Mr. Pink
Benjamin White is going to the World Cup! At long last, logic has prevailed!
Let’s restore balance to the universe by diving into some nonsense together.
🏃♂️ Introducing BLANCO
I started posting in these parts by making up bullshit stats to rank potential late-summer transfer targets for winger and midfield depth. Some called my efforts a waste of time. Others called them a colossal waste of time. But enough about the voices in my head.
Missing the craft, or shall I say “craft,” I decided to dust off the ‘ole abacus to look into something that’s been on my mind.
Benjamin White has been good — but how good, exactly? Compared to the world’s best full-backs, where does he stack up?
To investigate this question, I created a new, highly questionable catch-all stat to rank full-backs across the globe. It's called BLANCO.
An overall goal here was to more fully account for many of the unique skills that comprise a modern fullback—one who is attacking-focused but good in both directions. (Candidly, I’ve suspected that typical game scores can overweight fullback attacking play in their models: howler defensive performances can sometimes get a guy MoTM.) I was looking to take a more all-around approach to prioritize the complete packages.
A quick overview of BLANCO:
Sample: I took a sample of all full-backs globally who had started at least 7 matches, had a Transfermarkt of at least £7.5m, with full-back as their primary position. I picked these cutoffs for my own, arbitrary reasons, and will not be accepting questions at this time. In all, the sample was 71 players.
Omissions: Notable players cut out were Kyle Walker and Noussair Mazraoui (only 6 starts each), and the three other Arsenal options (Zinchenko, Tierney, Tomiyasu). We’ll get to them later. While there is some positional flexibility herein (Perisic comes to mind), I deleted a couple players from the sample who had too much run in attacking positions (including Pepê on Porto, Skov Olson on Club Brugge, and Solly March on Brighton).
Defending: A defensive score includes weighted values for defensive duels won, defensive duels lost, pressure-adjusted interceptions, and an additional modifier for times a defender was dribbled past — as well as some base factors from SofaScore’s defensive stats (which includes aerials, blocks, interceptions, errors, etc) — and then is adjusted for league.
Attacking: An attacking score includes a number of factors, including xG and xA, completed dribbles, progressive runs, total passing, progressive passing, passing accuracy, attacking duels won, completed crosses, total successive attacking actions, touches in the box, possession losses, and loss index — and then is adjusted for league.
Base: To normalize the effort, I incorporated a player’s FotMob average player rating as a baseline, which is based on 300 individual stats. I then adjusted it for league.
This only incorporates 22–23 form. It’s a ranking of their in-league performances this year, and not necessarily how good they’ve been over a wider span, outside of a couple core defensive traits.
That was a lot of words that may sound official-like, but trust me: there is no science to this. Onto the bullshit!
📈 Leaders in BLANCO
Without further adieu, here’s a spreadsheet containing the top 30 full-backs in the world according to BLANCO, and all their underlying stats that feed it:
(I) A reminder that the numbers on the right—GameScore, Defense, and Attacking—are all before weighting and league adjustments. (II) Yes, this is the moment where I wish I took one of those classes on data visualization.
If it’s a TLDR you seek, here is your overall top 10 based on adjusted 2022 league performances:
J. Cancelo, Manchester City: 95.28
R. James, Chelsea: 95.10
A. Davies, Bayern München: 94.14
K. Trippier, Newcastle United: 94.10
B. Pavard, Bayern München: 91.9
T. Hernández, Milan: 90.46
🔥 B. White, Arsenal: 89.64 🔥
T. Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool: 89.23
Á. Grimaldo, Benfica: 89.20
Youcef Atal, Nice: 88.17
If you have questions or pushback on any of this, well, so do I.
Overall, some notes:
In his first season at the position, White’s performances are good for 7th in the world by this bullshit metric, and fourth among all full-backs in the league. He’s here based on his strength across categories, but particularly in duels won % (third in the world at 60.54%) and his efficiency in progressive passes (also third, with 86.61%). He’s mid-table or above in almost everything, and has few glaring weaknesses.
Everyone above him is a double-threat: Davies in particular has really improved his defending to match his prodigious attacking work. Pavard’s been underrated, not least of which by himself (he seems to want to be a CB, where he’s not as good). He’s leading the world in pAdj interceptions, second in defensive duels won (76.47%), basically not getting dribbled past, and passing at the second-highest rate in the world after Cancelo. T. Hernández should probably be a few steps higher based on eye-test, but he's not quite as active in build-up as them.
Most of the players below White tend to lean one way (attacking or defending). TAA is an interesting case, of course: his underlying defensive statistics don’t always fully account for his struggles, and his attacking stats can be astronomical: he’s the most progressive player in the world at the position, by a margin. To show how hard it can be to evaluate defenders with basic stats: Trent wins more defensive duels, at a higher %, than Cancelo — and also beats him in PAdj Interceptions.
Others in the 30–70 range: Royal (😬), Cucurella (😬), Kristensen, Dumfries, Carvajal, Angeliño, Neco Williams, Pedro Porro, more.
Off-topic, #1: The players that make me question the model the most are probably Frimpong, Mendy, and Nuno Mendes.
Off-topic, #2: this exercise led me down a wormhole on 19-year-old full-back Malo Gusto, a locked-in starter for Lyon. Had seen him play before, but never deep-dived. Wow, he looks good. Mazraoui as well.
What about the other Arsenal full-backs?
I’m guessing you’re gonna ask me where our other guys would fall in this model, if they qualified. It’s pretty immense:
Zinchenko is right around White, at the edges of the top 10 (!). His passing is secure and high-volume and Wyscout has his defensive duels won % as the highest in the world among full-backs (at 84.38%). Conversations around his defense are often focused on how he tracks back, but he’s a comfortable, willing, and successful presser.
Tierney is 21st, and Tomiyasu is 36th (due to some restrained attacking numbers).
Our man in Marsielle Nuno Tavares is 45th; his attacking numbers are among the highest in the world, his defensive numbers much lower.
Having the rights to five of the top 45 here is ... pretty good.
🔥 What has contributed to White’s immediate brilliance at his new position?
Let us count the ways.
🍗 His composed, direct dueling style
This isn’t the first time we’ve written about Ben White in this series.
When we compared his performances to those of the incumbent Takehiro Tomiyasu—who White himself called “the best right back I’ve ever played with”—we noted the many similarities between the two. They’re different in a couple key ways that have become familiar to onlookers: Tomi is superior in the air and has a stable, patient way of defending; White is more direct.
His abilities at the new position were put to the test immediately. His first start at right-back was against one of the toughest 1v1 matchups in the league, Wilfried Zaha, and was at a time when prevailing thought was that White may just be a RB out of necessity until Tomiyasu returned from injury.
White’s duels against Palace (mostly Zaha)
Palace wanted to test White’s resolve, and more specifically, his legs. They did so relentlessly, and White had to initiate 23 defensive duels in all — the most of his career, which is wild considering he was a Bielsa man-marking guy.
There was a lot of tight showdown stuff like this.
Zaha plays an L-drag behind him to beat White on the sprint…
…but as he leans, White then crosses his leg over Zaha’s body, effectively boxing him out for the ball — and winning it.
This shows how White’s sense of space and positioning—mainly, his crowding of dynamic attackers—makes up for his lack of comparative outright pace (he’s fast enough, but not when compared to some of the wingers he marks). It’s hard to sprint when somebody is leaning on you.
It also showcases another skill: relentless focus. I’m not sure there’s a single clip of him assuming a play has passed him by.
It was not all so straightforward, and there were brief moments of worry in this one: fleeting challenges where it seemed like the speed differential was going to be too much to overcome—but he ultimately won 17 of those duels (74%), and contributed to a clean sheet in a tough game.
Other teams got the memo. He was challenged less in the next five games combined. The moments of worry all but vanished.
🍗 His lack of fuck-ups
This feels jinxy to say, but he makes few memorable mistakes in a position that is vulnerable to them. Despite his direct, aggressive nature, he has 0 errors that have led to a goal; he has 0 errors that have led to a shot; he only gets dribbled past once every ~2 matches; he doesn’t lose possession much; and he’s been fouled more than he fouls. Put simply, he has been Arsenal’s most consistent player.
One way in which this has showed up is that, when the team form has momentarily dipped — like in the second half against Southampton — White’s largely hasn’t.
The proof of this composure is in the most basic stat imaginable, which is goals allowed. Look at how few goals and opportunities come from his side:
🍗 His comfort as a midfielder
The other post about Mr. White was entitled “Mercifully investigating Ben White's experience and potential in the midfield.”
If I’m honest with myself, there was some motivated reasoning behind that one. As days pass in a player’s tenure at Arsenal, the probability that Gooners will eventually suggest that player should be trialed at the 6 approaches 100%. I looked forward to putting one to bed.
But alas, I dug through all his tape as a midfielder at Brighton and Leeds and discovered… bah, maybe he can’t be a star 6, but he’s a damn good defensive midfielder.
That experience has served him well. In Arteta’s ideal system, focused on dominant possession in a 2–3–5 shape, the fullbacks are a cheat code, spending more time midfieldin’ than fullbackin’.
You can see how advanced White’s passmap was against Brentford, for example.
One way they do this is by creating the safety net needed for guys like Xhaka to roam confidently upfield. Tifo’s Jon Mackenzie has a brilliant thread about Arsenal’s “rest defence,” which basically means how well your support shape works after a ball loss — and White does well in these transitions, which combine his skills as a full-back and center-back.
What Arsenal might look like in possession
While there’s been a bigger adjustment period on this for Tierney (who is a natural bomber) and for Tomiyasu (who is brilliant positionally, but can sometimes lack agility when pressed in the middle third, as we saw at Leeds), there’s been no graining period on the tires for White.
He’s been a midfielder before. He’s perfectly comfortable there now.
🍗 His high-efficiency work to support or overlap Saka
Because the system leans on this rest defense to not get exposed—and also because of a lack of elite recovery speed—White isn’t as adventurous as many of the world’s most productive attacking fullbacks. If he roams too far, too often, he’d leave Arsenal in a 6-high shape that would be vulnerable to the counter on a ball loss.
So what does White do? First, he modulates (after all, overlaps aren’t the only way to support his winger). Second, he picks his spots.
This was best on display against Tottenham. Conte was clearly freaked out about Saka, and broke his usual pure zonal scheme to send constant help over there.
In the first half, White tucked in as a supporting midfielder in attack. This led to numbers, space, and the Thomas rip.
Below, you can see the two defenders shading towards Saka. The pass to White causes Højbjerg to become a third addition, and vacate the tight 5–4 zone. There’s your narrow sea. Goal.
In the second half, Tottenham was more wary, and White started overlapping.
After a change of play, Lenglet stepped up from LCB to follow Ødegaard. From way back here, I believe White immediately recognized the vacated centre-back spot, and this was his trigger to get in behind, where Perišić would be forced to watch both he and Saka. Chugga chugga…
…and after Lenglet has to point at Perisic to switch, he’s a step late. White gets in a good cross for a near-goal on a Jesus header.
There was the assist at Bournemouth. There was the assist against PSV. There were multiple near-goals against Forest and Chelsea. He’s been incredibly dangerous on these low cut-back crosses, and may be harnessing their power so as not to make every game a boring 6–0 win.
When Saka has support on that right half-space, good things tend to happen.
🍗 His accuracy as a progressive passer
Progression is a vital responsibility for a modern full-back—perhaps most vital. In the global top 20 of progressive passers, 16 of them are full-backs.
It’s not always easy. When they are on the flank, full-backs are generally an ancillary option for a CB in build-up, because the mere act of receiving the ball on the flank is often a trigger for a press trap by teams who love using the touchline as an enormous defender.
Because of the importance, and the relative difficulty in doing this against an effective press, this is where the good players really make their difference.
White leads Arsenal in passes to the final third. Among full-backs, he is third in the world in progressive passing %, behind only Alex Grimaldo and Reece James, and in close company to the likes of Theo Hernández and Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Some of the 1–2 decision-making with Saliba and Partey are the stuff of training videos. He’s got a lot of passes in his bag, and it feels like they’re getting more incisive.
Here’s one I liked against Forest. After a throw-in, Forest is leaning heavy to the ball side, and there are four players in his vicinity, so he decides to change play…
…and now Martinelli is free to do what he does best: dribble in space.
More often, progression comes in relatively straightforward passes to Saka. He completed 13 progressive passes to him against Chelsea alone.
It can look like this:
But what seems to be improving is White’s fluidity and comfort with his post-pass movements.
Here, he passes and sprints in the same motion. Saka takes it out wide, and gives it right back to a cutting White.
His decision tree seems to be something like:
Saka accepts out wide, and Odegaard is in the channel = tuck into midfield support
Saka accepts out wide, and Odegaard isn’t in the channel = make a run into the channel
Saka accepts and looks to launch an inverted attack = check the CB’s positioning and make an overlap
Against Chelsea, it took a second viewing to notice the times when White was left all alone on the flank while making an off-ball run, and his teammates (Martinelli in one case) never saw it.
The increase in activity over there looks promising, and has helped Saka reach his current level.
🍗 His role as a bully
Some of the most fun moments of the season have been provided by White. Against Forest, seemingly any time that Forest got the ball out of their own third, White was there to shoulder the player down.
In the first half, White and Awoniyi were sprinting to a ball in transition. White has covered half the field to get the ball, and Awoniyi has the positional advantage…
…aaaand: Happy Birthday to the ground.
It’s not just the shouldering.
He nutmegs opponents as payback. He bullies his captain by flicking balls at his head in celebration. He goes La Pausa before tapping it away.
In general, the nucleus of his game is control and consistency, but the outermost fringes are informed by a breezy, fun cockiness that has to feel energizing as a teammate and demoralizing as an opponent.
OK, but where could he improve?
There's still room to grow. A few ways:
Comfort with his teammates in the press-trap: Against United, you could sense he, Saliba, and Gabriel were feeling each other out on the high press-trap, without full confidence if the other was going to run or hold the line. It’s improved since.
Crosses: The low cutback crosses have been dangerous, but the other forms have been rare and ineffective: he’s currently only attempting 1.84 per 90, and hitting on 26% of them.
More overlaps: It’s hard to watch his success in the overlaps without wanting to see more of them. He can’t be repeatably bombing but it’s a question of degrees, and it feels like the knob can move a few notches up.
Wide throughballs: Against Leeds, he struggled to track a few touchline throughballs. To mine eyes, it hasn't been much of an issue since.
Shots: As opponents continue to throw extra defenders at Arsenal wingers, changes of play are going to increase in importance and effectiveness. Like against Chelsea, that means shooting opportunities for White. Time to bang ’em in.
🔥 In conclusion 🔥
What a year he's having. When incorporating some of the newer analytics most favorable to White, including JAA (journalist-adjusted aloofness) and Play Ratio (a ratio of lifetime games played to games watched), the numbers make it clear: he’s easily the top full-back in the world.
Benjamin White is good.
You heard it here first.
Happy grilling everyone.
🔥
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Thank you all.