Mikel Arteta: Watching Ben White Train Will Leave You Amazed

Mikel Arteta hails Ben White ahead of visit of Brentford…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hailed Ben White’s rise this season as he prepares to face Brentford once again following his high-profile debut in August.

White, Arsenal’s record defensive signing, was given harsh reviews following his debut at the Brentford Community Stadium earlier this season as we succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.

With the discussion surrounding his £50 million price tag, losing some ariel duels to Ivan Toney in an opening-day defeat for Arsenal was always going to send the ‘broken cannon’ front pages into overdrive.

The England international tested positive for Covid-19 days after the game, meaning he had to wait nearly a month to make amends in his next league outing against Norwich.

Since then, however, White has been everpresent for the team with 11 clean sheets in the Premier League this season, only the previous two champions have amassed more this term.

“He’s improved a lot in a lot of things,” Arteta told the press.

In the end, how he’s being perceived is very important for the individual, what do they think of me? And, if that’s relevant then you have to make yourself very aware of it and you have to transmit what you want to be.

“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. That’s what we want from our players because when it comes to competing, that’s when you’re going to be ready.”

At just 24 years of age, White is nowhere near his prime as a central defender and with the squad experiencing a vacuum in leadership, one wonders if the former Brighton man is in Arteta’s thinking when deciding the next club captain.