Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal revolution is paying dividends for England, with Ben White one of four players who could be key figures at the World Cup.
Gareth Southgate is benefiting from Arteta’s patient commitment to his vision at Emirates Stadium, which has placed faith in youth and seen the rise of a quartet of Three Lions stars.
White, who has been called up for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast after losing his place in the squad following last summer’s Euros, is an example of the work being done by the Spanish manager, whose side have gone from shambles at the start of the season to favourites to clinch the last Champions League qualifying spot.
The centre-back, along with Bukayo Saka — who last night withdraw from the squad with Covid — Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale have all been nurtured by Arteta. White believes the country will reap the rewards.
“There are a lot of talented boys in the Arsenal group,” he said. “With how well they’ve done this season, they all deserve [to be called up].
“Our style of play is nice to play in and is nice to watch. I think we’ve had a really good season. We’re just trying to continue that and see where we go.”
White looks a perfect fit for Southgate as a defender who is comfortable travelling with the ball and blessed with a range of passing. But, despite his late call-up for last summer’s Euros as a replacement for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, his England future looked less certain when dropped at the start of the season following a traumatic start to his Arsenal career.
The £50million summer signing endured a horror debut in defeat to Brentford on the opening day of the campaign, which saw him heavily criticised as Arsenal lost 2-0 to the newly-promoted side. Sky pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were unflinching in their withering takedown of his performance.
White has since grown into a leader for Arteta, but does not shy away from his own shortcomings in that game in particular.
“I think it was the first time I’ve actually been singled out,” he said. “It’s never a nice feeling. It is not very good, but it just gives me more incentive to go out there and do well.
“Some of it you have to look at and see what they’ve said, and some of the stuff they said was true. That game wasn’t my best. Obviously, they’ve had amazing careers and, hopefully, one day I could have something like that.
“The start of the season was tough. We had the first game and it wasn’t ideal for me. I didn’t play very well and then I got Covid, so I was out for another two games. You see everything on Twitter and stuff like that. It’s all part of it.
“It’s something I didn’t really dwell on. It didn’t have any impact on me, how I was thinking or how I was playing. I know that I wasn’t good enough at the start of the season and didn’t put in a very good performance. I don’t need anyone to tell me that.”
White’s level-headed approach stems from his early career when released by Southampton. He did not know if he had a future in the sport. He has experienced all levels of the game, from punch-ups and curries at Newport County to Arsenal and England.
“It was tough not being wanted,” he said. “You don’t know if there is going to be anyone else who wants you, because you are at that level. If they don’t want you, other teams at the same level won’t.
“I went to Bristol Rovers on trial for three days. I only did two days because we were literally just running up hills — didn’t get a football out at all. It absolutely killed me, I couldn’t do it.”
He looks back at his time at Newport as pivotal to his development.
“It was one of the best years of my life,” he added. “I’d gone from playing at an academy where everything is nice and you have everything you want. And then you go there and everything is completely different. You’re having a curry for your pre-match meal.
“In my first game there was a punch-up at half-time, between our own players in our own dressing room. It was a bit scary, to be fair. I didn’t want to make any mistakes, that’s for sure.”
With experiences like that, it is little wonder that a bit of criticism from Neville and Carragher was brushed off so easily.
