Arsenal: 4 candidates for player of the season

3. Benjamin White

Someone who hasn’t been mentioned in many discussions about overall performance this season is Benjamin White, despite him being a near ever-present across all competitions.

The 24-year-old has only missed 180 minutes of Premier League action this season, with both of those matches being due to Covid, and has clocked up over 2,700 minutes in total.

While the overall tally isn’t some incredible record as countless others in the division have done likewise, it’s more about the consistency he’s shown during that time having come into a new side with a whopping £50m price tag slapped on his head. Someone who clearly doesn’t give a rat’s *** about what anyone thinks about him, he has got his head down and battled in every game he’s played.

The obvious point to pick out is his quality on the ball, but that overlooks what else he offers to this team. Despite irking some fans with his declaration for not watching football in his spare time, this is someone who lives and breathes every moment, full invested in the team and willing to take on responsibility and show leadership in times of adversity.

Always demanding the ball and trying to make things happen, he then has the requisite quality to feed passes through the lines or find men in behind. There were also initial concerns about his aerial ability and one-on-one defending, all of which has been dispelled as he’s excellent in both facets.

White is a superb all-round defender and the longer he keeps developing his game – it’s noticeable how he’s improved already under Arteta – the more chance he has of being recognised as one of the division’s best centre-backs.

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