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Pundit and former footballer Gabriel Agbonlahor has lambasted Arsenal defender Ben White again, saying he is ‘not good enough’.
THE LOWDOWN: DECENT START
Ben White, who has won four caps for England and was in Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020, joined Arsenal from Brighton for £50million last summer.
He went on to forge a strong partnership with Gabriel at centre-back, making 32 Premier League appearances across the campaign. The defender will have his sights set on the Three Lions squad for the World Cup this winter.
However, the return of William Saliba from loan has changed the dynamics of the backline at Arsenal.
THE LATEST: MEDIA HATE?
Despite impressing for the Gunners last season, former Aston Villa hitman Agbonlahor has slammed White and believes Arsenal overpaid for the former Seagulls defender.
‘It’s a waste of money what Arsenal paid for him. For me, he’s not good enough,’ the pundit told Football Insider.
‘To pay £50m for him, Brighton must be laughing their heads off because he’s not better than (Adam) Webster or (Lewis) Dunk and he’s not going to start for Arsenal.’
He said: ‘You can see it in a year’s time. Arsenal will probably be looking to get some money back for him because he’s not going to play at right-back and they’ve got two better centre-halves.’
Meanwhile, just some months ago Gabby tore into the Arsenal defender, saying the Gunners shouldn’t have paid that much for him.
“Arsenal’s defence is nowhere near good enough to get top-four. For me, Ben White is very overrated. I watched him against Newcastle towards the end of the season and he was absolutely dreadful”
“He lacks pace, he lacks aggression. Yes, he’s good on the ball but he’s not a defensive midfielder, he’s a centre-half. I think Brighton are laughing at getting the fee they got for him because he’s not good enough. It’s a shame that Arsenal have wasted a lot of money again. It was the same with Pepe.”
White played Friday’s Premier League opener with Crystal Palace, which Arsenal won 2-0. However, he was deployed at right-back, with returning loanee William Saliba, who claimed the man of the match award, preferred at the centre.
THE VERDICT: HARSH COMMENTS
Gabby Agbonlahor is being harsh on the defender who hasn’t done anything wrong in an Arsenal shirt so far. It is quite uncalled for and White should pay no attention to him.
Arsenal can’t afford to let him leave next summer because of the emergence of William Saliba. For now, first-choice right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu’s fitness isn’t guaranteed yet and White has been doing a decent job in his absence.
His versatility will definitely come good for Mikel Arteta’s men during the course of the season, so there’s no need to contemplate selling him off at all.
