Arsenal defender Ben White has reportedly stunned staff members at London Colney with his ability to play through pain. The 26-year-old is believed to be battling with an injury, but he has boldly decided to postpone a more serious examination until after this season’s Premier League title run-in.
White has appeared in all bar one of Arsenal’s league matches this season. Although the Englishman has found a home at right-back, his ability to play across the back line and in defensive midfield makes him a useful asset for Mikel Arteta.
Losing White for the final eight league games of the campaign would come as a crushing blow to the Gunners, even with Takehiro Tomiyasu fit and ready to step in. And the former Brighton star is reportedly intent on pressing on until the summer.
According to The Daily Mail, White is playing through a knee issue and his ability to block out the pain has surprised members of the Arsenal coaching staff.
The issue is believed to have originated in the defeat to Newcastle United in early November – all of five months ago – and White has been ‘managing’ it ever since.
His ability to cope may have been helped by snubbing England call-ups since the 2022 World Cup, when he left the camp early in mysterious circumstances following a rumoured altercation with assistant manager Steve Holland.
“We have the Champions League games and we have some big games at home, so every game in this league is extremely difficult,” Arteta said during a press conference earlier this week.
“You look at last night what happened again [between Chelsea and Manchester United] and everybody is just suffering to win because the level is so high. We’re going to have a really tough opponent again in Brighton. We know that, so we’ll prepare well and try to be better than them and try to win.”
