Ben White, what a player he has turned out to be for Arsenal. Remembering his earlier days at Arsenal, many criticised him as not a £50 million player, saying Arsenal had been conned. “They’ve spent £50 million on a centre-half in Ben White, who’s good but £25 million too much,” said Gabby Aghbanolar, on Talksport, about White’s Arsenal move back then.
“Brighton are probably thinking- happy days!- Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk are arguably better natural defenders.” However, if you flash forward to present day, you can’t argue that Arsenal got value for their money in this deal.
Darren Bent, a die-hard Gooner, recently had words for those who criticised Arsenal’s deal for White. “He [Arteta] has had to put his trust and faith in some of these young players,” said Bent on Talksport, as quoted by HITC. “Even £50 million for Ben White; people were like, ‘What?!
“All of a sudden, what a signing that looks like.”
When Ben White was signed, the deal was for him to fortify Arsenal’s central defence, and that is what he did in his first full season at Arsenal. He and Gabriel made Arsenal’s defence one to be envied by their Premier League rivals. Many didn’t expect the White-Gabriel partnership to be broken ahead of this season, but with Saliba’s return, we saw White’s versatility, seeing him being deployed at right back. And what an impact he has brought to the right wing. When one is writing about how good Arsenal have been this season, he will be biassed not to mention what a revelation White was, and he or she will probably describe White as a centre back who impressed covering at right back.
Or vice versa?
Daniel O
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