Ben White admits that doing one thing has him play more Arsenal games than ‘deserved’

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Arsenal defender Ben White has now had his say on where he prefers to play.

In his first season at Arsenal, Ben White played in the heart of the defence, alongside Gabriel Magalhaes. 

However, following the emergence of centre-back William Saliba at the start of last season, White suddenly found himself being deployed at right-back.

The 26-year-old quickly adapted to the role and made it his own. He has established himself as Mikel Arteta’s first choice pick in that position, and has developed a fruitful on-field relationship with winger Bukayo Saka. 

White himself has previously admitted that playing with Saka makes thing so much “easier” for him, given the 22-year-old’s quality and ability to accept the ball in confined spaces. However, the defender is doing himself something of a disservice with these comments. He is an excellent player in his own right, able to remain defensively solid, whilst constantly pushing forward to lend support in the final third, and producing penetrative passes up the pitch to the likes of Saka and Martin Odegaard.

Arteta certainly values White extremely highly, with the player having been described as “crucial” to the Spanish coach in the past. 

Former Arsenal teammate Rob Holding has also highlighted the 4-cap England international’s robustness, dubbing White a “mentality monster” for his ability to play through pain and injury. 

Ben White reveals secret to his success at Arsenal

White has now shared his own thoughts on his conversion to right-back, when asked which is his preferred position on the pitch. Speaking to the club’s official website, the former Brighton and Hove Albion man said, “I’m not too bothered. I’ve played both for quite a while so it’s nice to be able to play in a few positions. Whenever I do play, I want to do my best for the team. That’s my aim. It’s helped me throughout my career and maybe got me more games than I deserved!”

That kind of attitude will please Arteta, who will know that White will always give his best no matter what is asked of him. Clearly, the player’s priority is simply doing whatever he can to ensure that he is in the team as much as possible. That approach has certainly worked so far, as he has been a near ever-present in the starting XI since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2021.

Assuming his campaign is not derailed by injury, he will continue to be an integral figure for the Gunners for the rest of the season. Given Jurrien Timber has already been sidelined with a long-term injury, and Takehiro Tomiyasu is currently away at the Asia Cup with Japan and has a patchy fitness record himself, it is more vital than ever that White can stay fit.