Frank Leboeuf has suggested that the consistency of one Arsenal player is not spoken about enough, as he named him in his Premier League team of the season.
Arsenal may still be awaiting their first league title for 20 years, but Mikel Arteta’s men are most definitely back amongst the heavyweights in the Premier League, with Manchester City only getting across the line on the final day of this past campaign.
The Gunners have made progress year on year under Arteta, and a number of players appear to only just be reaching their peak.
No team in the league conceded fewer goals than the Gunners, with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes proving to be exceptional, but a lot of credit also has to go to Ben White.
Ben White not given enough credit for his consistency this season
White has surprised many with how good he has been at right-back for Arsenal, and that partnership down that flank between himself and Bukayo Saka is particularly important.
Speaking to ESPN, Frank Leboeuf named the 26-year-old in his team of the season, and suggested that he deserves even more praise than he seems to be getting.
“I wanted Walker, but I went for White. We didn’t talk enough about the efficiency and consistency of White and he had a very good season with the Gunners,” he said.
Darren Bent expresses worry about Arsenal defender
Of course, most players who played as well as White has done this past season would now be preparing to join up with their national team ahead of Euro 2024.
However, the £50 million man will not be in Germany for the major tournament this summer, with White, of course, not playing for England since leaving the World Cup squad back in 2022.
Gareth Southgate confirmed that he had not spoken to the Arsenal man about his latest squad because the defender does not want to be considered for selection.
Darren Bent admitted that he fears White regretting his stance on playing for England in a few years, insisting that he is not far away from being a key player for the Three Lions.
That is perhaps one of the reasons White does not get the full credit he potentially deserves, with some clearly struggling to understand his decision on playing for England.
But clearly, whatever happened in Qatar, White feels that it would be the wrong decision for him to make himself available to Southgate – and that should only be respected.