In wanting to extract the best game from Thomas Partey, I am an advocate of partnering him with a more defensively astute midfielder that would give him licence to dictate midfield without any concern that his forrays forward to support an attack would be detrimental to the team's shape and defensive structure and organisation. With this in mind the three midfielders at the top of my wishlist are Yves Bissouma, Bruno Guimaraes and Sander Berg.
However, in the event of our not purchasing any of the above or some other player who specialises in the defensive midfielder role, would it be feasible for Arteta to accommodate the return of Billy Saliba by playing 3 centre backs?
For me the answer is yes, but not in the accustomed way of playing with three centre halfs but rather harking back to the innovation of playing with a sweeper along with the ability to transition the ball from defence to attack. In being flanked by the power, physicality and pace on offer from Billy and Gabriel, our resident Reservoir Dog Mr. White is showing an ability to be a bit of a hybrid defender and a viable candidate to slot into the DM role and partner Partey from the middle of the defence.