Arsenal legend Paul Merson praised Gunners defender Ben White during the first half of the Premier League meeting with Manchester City.
The Highbury icon, covering the match on Sky Sports News, said his block midway through the first half helped keep Arsenal in the game.
Mikel Arteta’s charges and Pep Guardiola’s side are locking horns on Wednesday in a hugely important game regarding the title race.
Man City are snapping at Arsenal’s heels and boast two games in hand. With that in mind, nothing less than a Gunners victory will do to pull away from their title rivals.
However, things went badly for Arsenal in the opening stages of the match. Man City opened the scoring after just seven minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne drove at the Gunners defence before curling home into the bottom-right corner from outside the area.
City dominated for most of the first half. Indeed, Merson deemed it an “absolute football lesson” for Arsenal in the latter stages of the half.
However, White made a vital contribution in the 26th minute, blocking a seemingly goal-bound De Bruyne effort.
Erling Haaland and De Bruyne combined again as the prolific striker put his teammate through on goal.
With Gabriel and White closing in on him, De Bruyne checked back onto his left before firing at goal.
However, White made a crucial block, and Merson loved what he saw from the £120,000-a-week defender.
He told Soccer Special (26/4/23, 20:30): “What a block that was by White. He’s kept Arsenal in this game.”
The Gunners nearly made it to half-time just one goal down, but City managed to score again in injury time.
John Stones headed home from a De Bruyne free kick and, though it was initially flagged for offside, VAR ruled it onside.
Ironically, White’s right foot was playing the City defender onside.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
