MY ACCOUNT
After a rocky start, Ben White has now established himself as Arsenal’s most reliable defender.
His £50million arrival from Brighton last summer prompted mixed reactions among Gunners supporters — but any doubters have been silenced by a string of fine performances.
Ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Watford on Sunday, and with his stock in North London rising by the week, is White’s impressive form giving England boss Gareth Southgate something to think about?
Tough debut
White’s Gunners debut back in August was nothing short of a disaster.
Playing away to Brentford on the opening game of the Premier League season, a raucous Bees support roared their side onto an unlikely 2-0 victory.
Home forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney terrorised White and his defensive partner Pablo Mari, dominating the physical battle and winning header after header all evening.
After the match, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher picked up on White’s struggles, saying: “You want to see him do well. It’s a big price tag.
“But I must say that as soon as Arsenal bought him — and he was linked with Liverpool for 12-18 months — my fear was that I wouldn’t want him to come to Liverpool because he’s not tall enough, not good enough in the air.
“He is a young player but he’s not going to get any taller, so he’s going to have this problem.
“People are going to watch tonight and think: ‘Just play long balls on Ben White’s head and you’re going to get joy’.”
Strong character
That kind of assessment could easily dent a player’s confidence. White, however, was not easily flustered.
Taken out of the firing line by his boss Mikel Arteta for losses against Chelsea and Manchester City, he found himself recalled by the Spaniard for a crunch home clash with Norwich.
In what was billed a must-win game, the 24-year-old looked assured in helping his side to a clean sheet — even finding time to play three key passes en route to a 1-0 win.
Since that day, White has not missed a kick in the Premier League.
In his 22 league appearances, the Gunners have kept 11 clean sheets and picked up 14 wins, three draws and only five defeats.
Coming of age
Speaking last month, Arteta, 39, explained that White’s response to his difficult debut had really impressed him.
He said: “It’s the way Ben reacted after that game. He has a big personality and he has the courage to play, to make decisions, to step in front.
“When he’s not feeling 100%, he still wants to train every day and he does it like the best. 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.
“I’m telling you, you watch him train every day and you’ll be amazed. I think he’s playing a final every day in training sessions.”
Time on his side
At 24, White remains relatively youthful compared to the bulk of centre-halves competing at the top of the Premier League.
His comfort on the ball was said to be one of the main attractions for the Gunners, so it is little surprise he ranks inside the division’s top 10 in his position for final third passes completed this term.
The ex-Brighton man is also confident in stepping out to regain possession — his 47 possessions won in the middle-third is the 11th highest tally in the top tier.
Where he does need to improve though, is his passing accuracy.
While his preference to play a riskier ball than most has to be factored in, a pass completion rate of 83.9% across the campaign is some way behind the likes of Antonio Rudiger (87.2%), Virgil van Dijk (89%) and Aymeric Laporte (95.5%).
England opportunity
When Three Lions boss Southgate called White into his European Championship squad as a late replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold last summer, it surprised even the man himself.
Though he didn’t feature in any of England’s run to the final, his call-up — along with two caps earned prior to the tournament — was enough to suggest that he had a bright future at international level.
And while White was not called up for any of England’s late 2021 World Cup qualifiers, the door now appears ajar for a fresh face to emerge in the backline.
Regular starters Harry Maguire and John Stones are not enjoying vintage campaigns at club level and friendlies with Switzerland and the Ivory Coast at the end of this month could feasibly see Southgate hand opportunities out all over the pitch.
On current form, Arsenal’s No4 looks primed to take any chance that comes his way.
