When it comes to consistency in north London, there’s very few who can claim to match Ben White’s efforts at Arsenal, a defender who epitomises Mikel Arteta’s football.
White is confident in possession, forward-thinking, and also physically imposing – the perfect Arteta player.
If you harp back to the summer of 2021, when Arsenal bought White for a sizable fee from Brighton & Hove Albion, many outside the club mocked the move.
Manchester United bought Raphael Varane in the same summer and Liverpool had just purchased Ibrahima Konate too.
Fans of Arsenal’s rivals felt as if the club had overpaid for a lesser-player, however, that’s evidently not been the case.
White has thrived at Arsenal, and if the Gunners do go on to win the league title under Arteta, then he will be an incredibly important part of it.
That being said, White has now been discussing the arrival of his new defensive colleague at the Emirates, Riccardo Calafiori.
The Italian is yet to make his full debut for Arsenal, but may do so against Aston Villa on the weekend.
Ben White says Riccardo Calafiori is already raising the bar at Arsenal
White was talking to Arsenal’s website about a number of topics including this Saturday’s trip to Villa Park.
But the conversation quickly turned to Calafiori, who is clearly making a big impression in north London.
White said that the new £42m-signing has fit in seamlessly at the club, an aggressive defender who is upping the level in training.
He said: “He’s amazing. He’s fit right in and is doing well. He’s been training with us for a few weeks and has settled well.
“He’s strong, big, aggressive and a very front foot defender. He gives us a different type of full back so it’s good for everyone to compete and bring up the levels for everyone.”
As stated, there is a chance that Calafiori could feature for Arsenal against Aston Villa.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has often been suspect in big away games in the past, and could lose his spot to the Italian or perhaps even Jurrien Timber on the left.
Arteta certainly has one or two big decisions to make, and the same can be said in the transfer market too.
And Arsenal are now considering an audacious swap deal which could see one of White’s defensive teammates leave the club.
