Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher and Fremchman William Gallas were two of several former Premier League stars who criticised the signing of Ben White at the start of the season, but the Englishman has been able to prove them wrong as part of an impressive Arsenal defence in the quest for a Champions League spot at the end of the season.
A lot of eyebrows were raised after Arsenal spent £50m to sign England international White from Brighton and Hove Albion last summer and his first game in an Arsenal shirt didn’t help matters. He produced an average performance as Arsenal were beaten 2-0 at newcomers Brentford on the opening day of the current Premier League campaign with the goals from Danish midfielder Christian Norgaard and SergiCanos. Speaking after the game, Liverpool legend Carragher questioned his quality via Sky Sports as he was delighted that the Reds didn’t sign him.Liverpool had been constantly linked with a move for White before the Gunners splashed the cash to sign him from Brighton. He had spent just one season in the Premier League before Arsenal made the decision to sign him.
For William Gallas, he was at a loss on why Arsenal will spend a lot of money on the signing of White. William Gallas couldn’t believe that White was signed for £10m more than the £40m Manchester United paid for compatriot Raphael Varanewho has won the World Cup plus four Champions League titles. Ex-Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal centre back Gallas said he didn’t use Varane as an example to weigh the Ben White signing because he’s a Frenchman, but it was difficult for him to believe that the Gunners have spent a lot of money on an unproven Premier League player.
White recently said that the criticisms he received at the start of the season served as motivation for him to turn things around at Arsenal. He has been part of an Arsenal defence that has 13 clean sheets in the last 26 Premier League games.