Arsenal legend Ian Wright was not impressed with Ben White’s defending for Crystal Palace’s second goal at the Emirates last night.
The centre-back stood off Odsonne Edouard with the former Celtic striker given the freedom to fire past keeper Aaron Ramsdale on his stronger right foot.
Wright believes that White should have closed off the shooting angle for Edouard and he was rather concerned by how the club’s £50m summer signing dealt with the situation:
“I think it’s a little bit of a worry for Arsenal because when you look at both goals, we’re not getting defenders to go and engage. White’s got to get closer to Edouard and he doesn’t do it. They’ve done brilliantly to score the goal. I think he’s got to get close to him… at no stage does Ben White close that gap. People can say what they want, maybe the goalkeeper or whatever… at no stage does that gap get smaller so why wouldn’t you shoot?”
It isn’t the first time that White’s defensive capabilities have been questioned this season. He was pretty much bullied by Ivan Toney in the opening day defeat to Brentford back in August, but he had seemingly turned a corner since then.
One mistake doesn’t automatically make you a bad defender but Wright’s worries about White are shared by many others in the fanbase. It will be hoped that the 23-year-old doesn’t commit many more basic errors in the future.
