Journalist Charles Watts has now hailed the recent form of Arsenal right-back Ben White.
Ben White produced yet another solid performance for Arsenal as they thrashed Burnley 5-0 at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
The defender had an up-and-down first half of the campaign, as he was required to play through pain for a significant period. However, since Arsenal enjoyed a mid-season break in Dubai, White looks to have fully recovered and is now back to his best.
Former Arsenal centre-back Rob Holding has previously hailed White for his ability to play through injury, but now that the 26-year-old looks to be fully fit once more the boost that it has given him is plain to see.
Not only is the £50 million former Brighton and Hove Albion man looking in good shape physically, he has also been thriving in a new tactical role that he has been tasked with by Mikel Arteta.
A rejuvenated Ben White is a big deal for Arsenal
With Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Jurrien Timber all currently sidlined with injuries, Jakub Kiwior has been asked to fill-in at left-back in recent weeks. However, the Polish defender is not well-suited to playing that position in the inverted fashion that has come to be expected of Arsenal left-backs.
As such, rather than the left-back being given the instruction to drift in-field and bolster the midfield unit, White has been fulfilling this duty. Arteta has been told that he has former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa to thank for White’s ability to perform this role, as the Argentine coach used to make the player train as a midfielder in his time at Elland Road.
Charles Watts has certainly been impressed by White’s return to form. Speaking on his Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, in the wake of the Gunners’ emphatic triumph over the Clarets, the reporter said, “Ben White just looks like a player absolutely reborn after that trip to Dubai…that topping up of his tan seems to have recharged his batteries, and he’s looking like the player that we saw last season, he plays so well week in, week out.”
It is now vital that the 4-cap England international is able to stay fit, fresh, and in form for the rest of the season. Arteta has made certain concessions to protecting White in this sense recently, as when Arsenal have been comfortably ahead against West Ham United and Burnley recently, the manager has afforded Cedric Soares rare outings off the bench in order to spare the first-choice right-back having to play out the final minutes of those matches.
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