Arsenal improved on the previous campaign, but it still wasn’t enough to win the Premier League title.
You could even argue that Mikel Arteta’s side, over the course of the campaign, were the better team, they played the better football and they were the most consistent.
Arsenal scored the second-most goals (91) to Manchester City’s 96. But they had the best defence in the land. Only 29 goals conceded, in comparison to their title rivals’ 34.
Declan Rice played a huge role in that defence being so strong following his club-record transfer, as did the centre-back duo William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Then there is goalkeeper David Raya. There was a lot of noise around his signing and whether Arteta was right to bring him in and dump Aaron Ramsdale to the bench.
These are some of the players that played a huge role in Arsenal’s great season and why they were so defensively sound.
Many of those players have also been picked by pundits when they have been naming their Premier League Team of the Season.
But one man who Frank Leboeuf was keen to pick, who ‘we don’t talk about enough’, is the underrated right-back Ben White, as he told ESPN.
The 26-year-old was picked instead of Kyle Walker and Leboeuf added that White is a player who has ‘efficiency’ and ‘consistency’ to his game.
Ben White Premier League Team of the Season
“Instead of (Kyle) Walker, I went for (Ben) White,” said Leboeuf. “We don’t talk enough about the efficiency and the consistency of White. He had a very good season with the Gunners, with Saliba on his side as well.”
Ben White not selected by England for Euro 2024
It could be argued that White has been the best-performing English defender this season and the best right-back.
Yes, someone like Walker, on paper, is the better player and has had the better career. But White has been equally outstanding.
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Gareth Southgate recently named his England training squad ahead of Euro 2024, with Bukayo Saka picked and goalkeeper Ramsdale, despite his lack of game time at the Emirates.
But there was no room for White, who doesn’t want to be selected by his nation after an apparent falling out with the coaching staff.
This is England’s loss because White is a man in form, but if he doesn’t want to be picked, then you can’t see him ever repping his country again.
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