Ben White, Arsenal's 'mentality monster' who has run himself into the ground to push club to edge of glory

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A fee of £50million for a Brighton & Hove Albion defender who had just one season of Premier League experience, and that largely playing in a back three, raised eyebrows. He was Arsenal’s most expensive buy of that summer, where all six signings were aged either 23 or younger. After a debut to forget away to Brentford in early August, when only half of those six transfers had been completed, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said: “I don’t know the plan at Arsenal. The recruitment has been really poor.” In Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary series chronicling that Arsenal season, White himself was shown holding his face before saying: “Mate, I’ve got some little kids absolutely giving me stacks (of abuse). They were mugging me right off. They were like ‘£50million? You’re s***’.” Five years on, and there are no qualms about how those associated with Arsenal feel about the man who has given everything physically and mentally to push them forward. The injuries that have caught up with him are the story of this week, but before we get to them, there are equally important matters to address. Within 18 months of joining Arsenal, three moments seemed to change the neutral perception of White. First came the two-in-one from an interview when he insisted his name was Benjamin, not Ben, and then revealed he did not watch football growing up despite coming through the academy system. The deadpan deliveries that Arsenal supporters have come to love in his interviews did not seem to translate, and that is where their defence of someone who felt like one of their own truly began. Then came the 2022 World Cup, where White left the England squad for personal reasons — a decision received boos as recently as his returning appearance under Thomas Tuchel in March. All these factors need recognising when it comes to understanding why Arsenal supporters feel so strongly about White, and that is before we even get to what he has done on the pitch. Signed as a centre-back, White was part of a new-look back five that laid the foundation for the success of years to come. This was before William Saliba looked like he had a future at the club, and when the Frenchman’s return forced a revolutionary change of position. White loved carrying the ball forward from centre-back but Arteta, being less of a fan of those actions in central areas, found a way to utilise that skillset at right-back and it had a direct contribution to making Arsenal title contenders in the 2022-23 season. White helped unlock Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard on the right flank, and ended the season with five assists himself. Takehiro Tomiyasu had played the role excellently the year before, but now Arteta could chop and change depending on how he envisaged a match playing out, but not for long. Season-ending injuries to Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu meant White started 36 of the 38 league matches he played that season. Even with Jurrien Timber joining in the summer of 2023, his anterior cruciate ligament injury and Tomiyasu’s continued fitness issue forced White to start 35 of 37 league appearances. So across two years, just in the league, White started 71 of 75 matches, all while the demands on Arsenal full-backs were growing. Rather than staying in a defensive block with the halfway line being the highest point they would venture, whoever was used at right-back was expected to sprint upfield to press opposition left-backs like so. This is part of what has made Arsenal so dominant, but the constant repeat of explosive actions going forward coupled with the intense tracking back no doubt takes its toll. This latest injury is different, as it came through contact with Crysensio Summerville, but the impact on White has been evident in recent years. Former Arsenal centre-back Rob Holding once told Michael Timbs (a sports presenter) that in the 2021-22 season: “When we played Newcastle away, he would have had a grade two/grade three hamstring injury easily. His hamstring was shot to hell and he went out there and played. He’s a mentality monster, I don’t know how he does it. It’s mental.” Last season, White required knee surgery and was out for three months. This season, he has suffered four separate injuries which have contributed to such a stop-start campaign. The second of which, a hamstring injury in December, was arguably the most telling. After over three months without playing in the Premier League, he had to start four matches in 10 days. In a cruel twist of fate, this spoke to something Arteta highlighted the week before, as he explained: “The fact that you are missing players, (means) you are loading other players more (as) a consequence. It’s a really dangerous circle.” Timber’s recent groin injury being more complicated than first expected has seen White push himself again. After missing three league matches with a knock in late February-early March, the England international started four of Arsenal’s last five league matches. While he had some ropey moments, like earlier in the season with Noni Madueke, his recent impact on Saka helped Arsenal’s attack flow more easily. With this being a contact injury, however, Neville’s point in commentary about White being stronger in the challenge with Summerville needs to be taken on board. Post-match, before the confirmation that this was a medial ligament injury, the former Manchester United and England right-back added: “I’ve done what Ben White did. I did my medial ligament in training. I went in for a challenge, and if you go in for a block tackle and just hang your leg away from your body and lean back, you’ll get the rock of your knee. Particularly if someone goes in solid, so you have to lean into it and go in strong and get your power forward.” Arsenal players, staff and supporters will have strong feelings about White and not just because of what he has produced on the pitch. Yes, he has brought quality beyond the expectations of anyone when he signed, but he has also provided Arsenal with lighter moments of joy in his time at the club. Whether it was the s***housery with goalkeepers at corners before the Premier League changed the rules, or the instinctive decisions to back his team-mates in tussles (like when he smashed a ball into John McGinn’s body after a foul on Saliba), White has formed this version of Arsenal as much as any of his team-mates. Cristhian Mosquera will likely be his replacement for the final two league matches, so there will be something fitting about a centre-back turned right-back trying to get Arsenal over the line. If they do, White’s five years of blood, sweat, overlaps, s***housery, dry humour and joy cannot go under the radar. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms