Ben White has spoken about the ‘unbelievable’ time he had at Leeds United after Arsenal beat Javi Gracia’s side at the Emirates on Saturday.
When Ben White was in Brighton colours, he was loaned to then-Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United, who were trying to earn promotion to the Premier League.
Whether he played at right-back, at centre-back or filling in for Kalvin Phillips in the middle of the park, the versatile defender enjoyed a fruitful season in Yorkshire and he helped the club return back to the promised land.
Leeds did everything they could to sign the 25-year-old, but those at the Amex Stadium remained stubborn, before selling their player to Arsenal for big-money the following campaign.
Fast forward to the present and White is a month or so away from being a Premier League title winner, as Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Leeds on Saturday helped matters, including a goal from the player himself.
After the weekend’s game, White made an admission about his former side and he sent the following message, as he told Match of the Day.
“Obviously massive respect for Leeds and what happened, it was an unbelievable time for me,” said White.
“I am just helping Arsenal now and that’s the most important.”
IS BEN WHITE UNDERRATED?
From playing as a centre-back for Arsenal to now thriving as a right-sided fullback, White is doing a brilliant job at the back for Mikel Arteta.
It could be argued that he is an underrated figure, with William Saliba seen as the wonderkid, Gabriel Magalhaes as the senior performer and Oleksandr Zinchenko helping push the team towards a Premier League title challenge after his summer transfer.
For Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad, White was left at home, surely this isn’t down to performances, but because there have been suggestions that there were behind-the-scenes issues with the player and it’s why he left the World Cup squad in Qatar early.
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