Benjamin White remains a divisive figure, even among Arsenal fans, more than a year on from his £50million move from Brighton to the Emirates.
It is true that the 24-year-old still has aspects of the defensive side of his game he could improve, but in the modern game, White's technical attributes cannot be overlooked, even if he is a central defender. His ability on the ball and tendency to pick out a pinpoint pass from the heart of the defence up the pitch to the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka is invaluable to Mikel Arteta's system.
If anything, the defensive side of White's game has actually been on show more in the opening exchanges of this season than the last, as the ex-Seagulls star is currently having to play out of position at right-back. First-choice for that role is Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has struggled to shake off injuries and failed to feature in any pre-season fixtures as a result.
In the Japan international's absence, White has been forced to step up - but clearly hasn't done as good of a job as England boss Gareth Southgate would have hoped, given he has been omitted from the latest Three Lions squad.
Southgate selected a 28-man squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Italy at the San Siro before meeting old foes Germany at Wembley. Some would argue that a few of the defenders who have been selected ahead of White can consider themselves fortunate.
But, if Arsenal's recent Amazon 'All or Nothing' series proved anything it's that White is more than capable of recovering from set-backs and will not let being dropped by England so close to the World Cup phase him. The criticism the defender has endured and recovered from at times at the Emirates shows he is made of stern stuff.
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Arsenal's opening night of the season clash away at Crystal Palace not only saw White at right-back, but William Saliba took his place next to Gabriel in the heart of the defence.
The Frenchman excelled and won man of the match, leading to speculation over whether White had dropped a place in the centre-back pecking order.
Factor that in with the response his first performance at right-back got many feared, prematurely, this would be a season out in the cold for White, but Arteta's comments from an episode of the Amazon docu-series show he holds the defender in the highest regard.
The Spaniard described White as "brave", "really talented" and a "fighter", adding: "He trains like he's playing the Champions League final. That's why he's come a long way in such a short time in his career."
If Arteta's assessment of White's character is correct, do not be surprised to see him on the plane to Qatar later this year. He has already been to one major tournament with his country but failed to get any playing time at Euro 2020.
He's on borrowed time to change that, but with Arsenal's schedule packed to the brim with three games a week every week until Qatar, White has plenty of chances to try and change Southgate's mind.
