Arsenal Defender Ben White

Arsenal defender Ben White has been at the club for over three years after he signed from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2021. 

White signed for a fee of £50 million from Brighton as Mikel Arteta looked to strengthen his options in defence in the process of building a side capable of winning a Premier League title.


The defender’s hefty price tag meant that he came to the Emirates with high expectations amongst Arsenal fans and for the most part he has delivered.

White made his debut for the Gunners in August 2021 for what was the first game of the 2021/22 season. However, it wasn’t the best of starts for the defender as his side lost 2-0 to Premier League newcomers Brentford.

Since then, the 27-year-old has made 140 appearances for the Gunners which is more than any other team that he has played for. White has also scored six goals for Arsenal and provided 10 assists.

Primarily a right-back, he can also play at centre-back and on the left if needed making him a valuable asset to Mikel Arteta due to his versatility.

Ben White has played in all top four English leagues

The 27-year-old began his youth career with Southampton, but he was released at the age of 16 and picked up by Brighton amid interest from both Bristol City and Leicester City.

White remained at Brighton until he joined Arsenal, but he did complete several loan moves during his time on the South Coast. In his first season as a professional, he made just five appearances, both of which were in the cup.

Therefore, to get more game time, White went out on loan to League Two side Newport County for the 2017/18 season where he netted his first career goal just four months into the season.

He ended up making 42 league appearances for Newport, scoring one goal and recording five assists over the course of the year.

White’s second loan spell came in the second half of the 2018/19 season when he moved to Peterborough in the January transfer window. He played just 15 games in League One but he did score for the Posh.

His Championship appearance came for Leeds United in his third loan spell away from the Amex Stadium in the 2019/20 season. He helped Leeds to win the title in the second tier and earn promotion to the Premier League by making 46 Championship appearances, scoring one and assisting twice.

After his breakthrough season at Leeds, White finally got his chance with the Seagulls and played 36 Premier League games in the 2020/21 season, becoming a crucial part of Brighton’s first team. He also won the club’s Player of the Season award and his performances warranted an England call-up from Gareth Southgate.

After just one season playing first-team football in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta had seen all he needed to as he decided to cough up £50 million for White’s signature and an imminent move to Arsenal.

White asked not to be called up to the England squad

Somewhat of a curious decision, in 2022, Ben White requested from the England National Team that he not be selected due to ‘personal reasons’.

He left the England camp during the World Cup in Qatar and hasn’t been selected for England since. As reported by BBC Sport, new interim manager Lee Carsley said that he has asked not to be contacted regarding a call-up for the national team.

Carsley said: “As far as I’m aware he asked to not be contacted. If that changes, that will change.

“I think it is important that we have real competition all over the pitch, and the more players we have available to pick from the better it is.”

Three things you didn’t know about Arsenal defender Ben White

Ben White is very close to his Dad even today although he admitted during an interview for Arsenal’s Official Website that his Dad doesn’t have an interest in football. White was always expected to go on and work for his Dad as a gardener if he never made it in football.

Something that would have been unexpected for the 27-year-old is that he happened to be in the right place at the right time during Arsenal’s 6-0 win over Sheffield United last season as he scored the club’s 10,000th goal in its history.

Finally, Ben White holds another impressive stat at Arsenal as he is the player with the 3rd most wins out of his first 100 games for the club (66 wins). Only Sol Campbell and Lauren have won more games in their first 100 appearances (68).

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