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Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon has slammed Ben White for his poor reaction in Arsenal’s draw against Southampton on Sunday.
THE LOWDOWN: REALITY CHECK
Arsenal were forced to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on Stadium. It will be the second time that the team will be dropping points this season since the defeat at Manchester United.
The North London outfit took an eight-game winning run to the South Coast on Sunday with the hope of extending their lead at the summit of the Premier League table. However, the Saints, who have been a tough nut to crack for the Gunners in recent seasons, fought for a point in the end.
After the stalemate on Sunday, a pundit has handpicked defender Ben White for his negative reaction in his post-match interview.
THE LATEST: MIXED REACTIONS
Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon believes Ben White’s negative reaction was over the top, adding the Gunners should blame themselves for not turning up in the second half.
After the match, White made it clear how unhappy he was with Arsenal’s failure to come away from St Mary’s with a win,
White replied: “Sloppy in possession, didn’t win duels, the opposite to the first half and that’s why the game went the way it did. ‘We’re only human… it’s tricky.”
But after watching White’s post-match interview, Dixon said: “Wow, did they get beat 8-0?”
“Yeah, that was a little bit over the top. He’s feeling what he’s feeling but I still think that this season, when you play like that in the second half, you’ve got to take it on the chin and go, ‘yeah, we didn’t play great, move on to the next one’. But he was very down there wasn’t he?”
Dixon also added: “I think it [Arsenal’s poor finishing] would’ve been Mikel’s concern at half-time because you always remember the game that’s just gone, they had a midweek game but the last Premier League game he’ll remember how in control they were against Leeds and then how it went away from them in the second half.”
“It was very similar, this time Southampton got the goal. But tomorrow when he’s softened his view on it he’ll say it’s a decent point. because they could’ve lost that game in the end.”
THE VERDICT: FEELINGS
The feeling of the player is quite different from that of the Pundit. White recently said the mentality of the side has changed this season, so that may have informed his decision to criticize their performance in the game.
In addition, White is also disappointed because they missed an opportunity to increase their lead over fellow top four contenders after every one of them dropped points over the weekend.
The reaction in the coming games after this disappointing result will determine if the mentality has truly changed.
