White on progress, positioning and youth

Ben White has shared his thoughts on our season so far, which position he prefers to play in, and a heartwarming memory of playing football as a kid.

“It seems so long ago,” he said, looking back on playing football in the garden with his mum as a youngster. “It was always my mum out in the garden with me.

“We’d watch a little bit of football and then go in the garden and stay there for a few hours. It wasn’t going to be me in goal!

“There was never any pressure on me. It wasn’t my mum or dad’s dream for me to play in the Premier League and be a footballer so I was never pushed or had any pressure on me. That’s why I’ve done what I’ve done.

“Whenever I used to play when I was young, after a game it was always ‘you did so well’, even when I knew I didn’t! It was always positive whenever I came home.”

There is much more pressure now of course but Ben feels that he and the team are handling it well during his third season at the club.

“We’ve taken massive steps,” he said. “Obviously last season was such a good one but didn’t end the way we wanted. The steps that we’ve taken are massive and again this season has been a really good one so far.

“Playing with the players that I play with and having the manager that I have, it’s hard not to improve. There are so many details that go into everything every day and it’s about picking up them and putting it into the game.”

Whether Ben plays at right-back or centre-back, he isn’t too concerned and is more than capable of carrying out both sets of responsibilities.

“I’m not too bothered,” he said. “I’ve played both for quite a while so it’s nice to be able to play in a few positions. Whenever I do play, I want to do my best for the team. That’s my aim. It’s helped me throughout my career and maybe got me more games than I deserved!”

Playing right-back does allow Ben to have more of a connection with Bukayo Saka, who is a joy to work with.

“Playing with him is a joy and I see what he does to the teams we’re playing against,” Ben said. “When you have a player like that you have to give them the ball, which makes my job so much easier because I know he’s going to do something.”

Ben was also asked about the impact that summer signings Declan Rice and David Raya have made on the squad.

“Declan’s brought so much,” he said. “Everyone knows that he’s a top player. Having him around the changing room has changed the dynamic of the team and brought a happier changing room. He’s pushing people on and making everyone better around here. He’s a massive character and has helped in so many ways.”

“David has such good qualities and that’s why he’s playing for Arsenal. The way he’s come in and had a few sticky moments but shown that he can come back from them and play so well, some of the saves that he’s pulled off were unbelievable so he’s done really well.”