Arsenal defender Ben White was an unsung hero during the 2-1 Premier League win over Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Gunners went into the game on a seven-match winning league streak and they were much fancied to beat the Bees in the London derby.
However, they had to work hard for the result. Declan Rice opened the scoring with his head in the 19th minute after a quality cross from White.
An Aaron Ramsdale blunder allowed Brentford to equalise just before the half-time interval.
The Englishman managed to redeem himself in the second half with two exceptional saves.
He made a stunning finger tip to deny Ivan Toney from scoring from 40 yards out. He replicated the same against Nathan Collins, who had a free header in the box.
In the end, Kai Havertz made the difference for Arsenal with an 86th-minute winner. It was White, who was the creator of the goal with another brilliant delivery.
Aside from his two assists from two crosses, White completed 63 out of 71 passes attempted in the London derby – an accuracy of almost 89 per cent.
The £47 million-rated star had an overall 84 touches during the game and he was a constant attacking threat for the Gunners with his overlapping runs.
In our view, he was the Gunners’ best player on the day, creating the chances for both goals.
In the end, the Englishman was an unsung hero, but the fans will be delighted with his current form.
White has four goal contributions in his last five league games. He has had the license to push forward in the injury absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The 26-year-old has impressed with his overlapping runs over the past few weeks as well as the ability to invert into a midfield role when required.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
