Arsenal defender Ben White will be sidelined for “several months” as he recovers from surgery, manager Mikel Arteta has revealed.
The 27-year-old full-back started the Gunners’ final game before the international break in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, playing the full 90 minutes in his seventh league start of the season.
During his two-week absence, White underwent what Arsenal called “minor surgery” on a knee problem, which Arteta has now confirmed will keep him out for the foreseeable future.
“Ben White will unfortunately be out for a few months,” he said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Nottm Forest.
“There were different kinds of struggles, but they were never the same.
“We had to make a decision. The situation has not improved in the last few weeks. We know Ben will push all the limits, but we have reached a point where we have to protect the player.
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Arsenal’s former co-owner and vice-chairman David Dain has said certain areas of football ‘concern’ him, including fixtures, multi-club ownership and financial fair play.
“We decided to do the surgery and he agreed to it, which will keep him out for a few months.”
“We’ll have to see how he reacts after the surgery. I don’t expect it to be half a year, but I can’t say exactly how long it will take.”
White has been a near-constant presence in Arsenal’s backline since joining in 2021, missing just seven Premier League games in his first three seasons and featuring in nine of Arsenal’s 11 games so far this season.
Defensive problems have already plagued the Gunners this season, with Jurrien Timber, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu all injured at different times, but Arteta is delighted the rest of the defense is finally shaking off these issues. I felt some relief.
“This is a challenge. It’s something we never expected,” he said. “His availability in the back line was top notch alongside Gabriel and William Saliba.
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Arsenal invincible Gilberto Silva has appeared to not rule himself out becoming the Gunners’ new sporting director. Silva paid tribute to his former team-mate Edu for the role he played in rebuilding Arsenal as title contenders.
“But we will look for alternatives. There are positives: Declan (Rice) is back, Bukayo (Saka) is back, Jurien is in a good position, Ricardo Calafiori is in a good position, “There is a lot of good news.”
Arteta will manage his 250th game for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Nottingham Forest are level on points with them in the Premier League table after the Gunners’ fourth successive winless run in the league.
The international break gave the manager a chance to reflect on what was behind recent results, and while he identifies areas he would like to improve, the 42-year-old believes Arsenal have not been as bad as two points in their last four games. You can also make suggestions.
He said, “We analyzed everything we did. Is the opponent better than us? Is that why we didn’t win the game? The clear answer is no.”
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Paul Merson said Arsenal’s title chances were ‘over’ if the gap on Liverpool increased to 12 points, while Jamie Redknapp said it was a perfect weekend for the Reds in the title race.
“Should we have won that game more? The answer is yes. Do I like what our team is doing? The answer is yes. But we need to improve in certain areas, especially defending the box. and attack.
“You can think a lot in general, but you have to understand how the players are. The only way to do that is when they come back, other than communicating on the phone.”
“And the energy of the staff and players yesterday was unbelievable. That’s the joy of being on this journey with these players.”
“They love being here, they love coming back with us, and it brings the energy right away. It’s always nice to draw, and make sure we’re on the right track.”
