Ben White has become the perpetual clown of Arsenal Football Club. Wherever he goes, there is a smile on his face and a bundle of fun following him. That isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s quite refreshing from a footballer in 2023.
From joking with his teammates to tripping up opponents when the referee isn’t looking, a viral clip isn’t far away when the defender is in town.
However, since he left the England squad during the World Cup, the right-back perhaps hasn’t looked like the same jovial character.
He came into the tournament full of form and was certainly one of the best defenders in the country throughout the first half of the season.
The very fact White was even picked for Qatar speaks volumes of his ability. After all, his third of the pitch is where Gareth Southgate possesses the most depth.
The former Brighton man didn’t end up featuring in the Middle East and amid claims of a rift with coach Steve Holland, left the camp.
Perhaps some fun in the sun would have served him well? Even if it did, his form has dwindled in recent matches, the nadir of which came in Arsenal’s shock defeat to Everton on Saturday lunchtime.
Mikel Arteta’s patience with the player may well be wearing thinner. He was hooked at half time in the win over Manchester United in favour of Takehiro Tomiyasu and didn’t start the cup tie against Manchester City.
It was the Japan international who was favoured again and he even came close to scoring, stinging the palms of Stefan Ortega in the first half.
Then, when the going got tough against the Toffees this weekend, White was substituted again. His replacement on 85 minutes? Yep, you guessed it, that man Tomiyasu.
It was perhaps too little too late at that point, however, with the 25-year-old registering a Sofascore rating of a lowly 6.5.
Coincidentally, barring his 6.1 rating in the win over United, that happens to be his lowest number since Arsenal’s only other defeat in the league this term, the loss at Old Trafford to Erik ten Hag’s men.
In that game, the England ace was also withdrawn for Tomiyasu having completed just 76% of his passes and winning 3/5 of his defensive duels.
From a defensive point of view, White was even worse against Everton, winning only two of his six duels and losing all three of his aerial battles.
It was a match that didn’t follow the seasonable trend for Arsenal or White with the Poole-born defender looking particularly out of sorts.
He was one of the players to attract harsh criticism after the final whistle with one reporter – Jason Soutar – suggesting it was his “worst performance of the season“. Based on the raw numbers and the eye test, it’s hard to disagree with that statement.
Dwight McNeil regularly had the beating of him, playing three key passes and delivering 11 crosses throughout the match as an indication of the amount of space he was afforded by Arsenal’s defence.
Perhaps now is the time for some time out of the team for White. He looked undroppable throughout earlier stages of the season but amid links to a new right-back in Ivan Fresneda and the return to fitness for Tomiyasu, things are beginning to change.
The £50m signing has rarely had many difficult moments in north London with this period potentially set to be his first. How the full-back responds to a potential benching only time will tell but it’s a move that has to be made for the time being.
Source: footballfancast.com
