25 July 2023 , 17:57
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Ben White's most recent insight into his mentality only supports what Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said about the defender some time ago.
The former Brighton ace was questioned when he first arrived at the Emirates after the Gunners forked out £50m to secure his signature, but has slowly but surely silenced the critics with a number of stellar performances. White has shown how versatile his technical prowess allows him to be, with his debut season spent at centre-back before he moved to right-back last term.
He has gone from strength to strength in an Arsenal shirt and White has since discussed he how looks for the marginal gains in every performance and relishes the challenge of his newer role at right-back.
"Being a full-back, you come up against a winger, always like when I'm playing against [Wilfred] Zaha I'm like, 'I want it', do you know what I mean? It's so good, I want to test myself against someone like that," he told ESPN.
After waxing lyrical about Zaha specifically and what made the Ivorian so difficult to defend against, White continued and touched on his mindset when tasked with trying to nullify some of the league's most lethal attackers.
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"You know, they're really good players that you're playing against so any edge you can get for me, I think I like that side of it. If I can do that to someone and stop them running at me the whole game then that's what I'll be doing."
Mikel Arteta has a fantastic relationship with Ben White and has heaped praise on his work ethic beforeMirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here.
That kind of 'win at all costs' mentality and desire to do whatever it takes to win his duels is clearly a trait of White's that Arteta values highly. The Gunners boss has spoken glowingly of the defender's approach to training and improving his game before.
The Spaniard described White as "brave", "really talented" and a "fighter" in the recent Amazon 'All or Nothing' series centred around the club.
"He trains like he's playing the Champions League final. That's why he's come a long way in such a short time in his career," he added. "Ben has the capacity to play in different positions and that’s a big plus for any player."
White has certainly had to endure his fair share of doubters during his Arsenal stay and some feel he could be in for a difficult campaign next term after the arrival of right-back Jurrien Timber from Ajax. However, the England international did not shy away from the challenge William Saliba presented and is unlikely to do so now.
He'll have his eye on that starting right-back spot for the opening-day clash at home to Nottingham Forest and work typically hard to keep it over the course of the season.