Mikel Arteta has had many core groups since returning to Arsenal.
From a leadership group that includes a mixture of the longest-serving and most experienced players at the club to those considered undroppable when it comes to the Spaniard naming his strongest starting XI week-in, week-out when he has a fully fit squad available for selection.
All of which is designed to help Arsenal's bid to return to the Champions League.
Ahead of the Gunners' Premier League clash against Watford at the weekend, Arteta's latest core group has been revealed and it is shaped around those to have played the most minutes under him so far this season.
As spotted by @PainInThArsenal on Twitter, £50m summer signing Benjamin White has certainly proven his worth by playing 2,378 minutes of football since arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion - the most of any player across the Arsenal first-team squad.
The only Premier League games White has missed so far came at the start of the season against Chelsea and Manchester City because of a positive Covid-19 test that meant he had to self-isolate for 10 days as per previous government guidelines.
That was also the reason for his absence from the Carabao Cup second round win over West Brom, whilst he was rested for the third-round win over AFC Wimbledon.
It's often said that availability is the best quality for any player and Arteta has already revealed the lengths White has gone to in order to become Arsenal's most reliable player this season.
"When he’s not feeling 100 per cent good, he still wants to train every day and he does it like the best," the Gunners manager revealed last month. "And the same when he wants to compete.
"In the long run, that takes you to a nice place, for sure. I think Ben is where he is today because of everything he’s done in the last few months. To achieve it is not a coincidence. It’s the work that he puts in every single day."
As per transfermarkt, the next five Arsenal players with the most minutes have been revealed and it won't surprise many who makes the list.
Behind White is Bukayo Saka with 2,194 minutes and interestingly he's the only player to have made every single matchday squad (31) for the Gunners this season, failing to make an appearance off the bench in two Carabao Cup games against Leeds United and Sunderland.
The England international was somewhat of a utility man when Arteta was first appointed but has now nailed down a place on the right-wing.
Unsurprisingly, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Magalhaes complete the list of Arsenal players with at least 2,000 minutes under their belts this season.
This is no surprise as the pair have been ever-present in the Gunners' backline ever since the 1-0 win over Norwich City following the first international break of the campaign, whilst the former just edges the Brazilian out of the top three thanks to his three Carabao Cup appearances.
Coming in at fifth and sixth respectively is Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney - two players tipped to be in the running to become the next permanent Arsenal captain - and they should both clock up over 2,000 minutes provided they stay fit for the rest of the season.
That should also apply to Thomas Partey (1,674) and Emile Smith Rowe (1,636) who have both had their fair share of fitness issues.
Despite being one of Arteta's key players, Granit Xhaka is fairly low down on this list.
Of course, two sending offs and a two-month injury layoff is the cause for him clocking up just 1,289 minutes of action for Arsenal so far this season - that is just 173 minutes more than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who hadn't featured since early December prior to joining Barcelona in the January transfer window.
But similar to Partey and Smith Rowe, Xhaka's minutes are likely to increase as long as he keeps his discipline.
The Gunners player - who is still at the club - with the least amount of minutes so far this season is Mohamed Elneny with 422. This is no surprise as the midfielder has been behind Partey, Xhaka and Albert Sambi Lokonga in the pecking order as most of his game time has come in the Carabao Cup, although he did play 90 minutes at Old Trafford.
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What this data proves is that Arteta has a group of players that he likes to call upon when fit and available for selection.
There's an argument that White, Saka, Ramsdale, Gabriel, Odegaard, Tierney and Partey are all guaranteed starters when fit so the fact they all feature in the top seven of Arsenal players with the most minutes this season is encouraging for the Spaniard.
With 14 games left it means 1,260 minutes of Arsenal's season remains and if more players can reach the 2,000 minutes mark then Arteta will be able to rely upon his core group more often than not and that certainly boosts their chances of a top-four finish.
