"A lot of people just don't really appreciate him" - Journalist claims 'one hell of a player' is not highly rated outside Arsenal

Journalist Charles Watts has claimed that Ben White is underrated by those who do not watch Arsenal closely.

The English defender joined the Gunners for a fee of £50 million in the summer of 2021. He made his name at Brighton & Hove Albion playing as a centre-back but has been largely utilized as a right-back under Mikel Arteta.

White played the full 90 minutes on Saturday (April 1) as the north London giants swept Leeds United aside 4-1 in the Premier League. He even managed to get his name on the scoresheet as he finished off a cross from Gabriel Martinelli in the 47th minute.

After the game, Watts waxed lyrical about the 25-year-old and said on his YouTube channel (h/t FootballFancast):

"I love Ben White. I think he's so so good. He's such an underrated player outside of Arsenal. I think everyone at Arsenal knows how good Ben White is, how good a season he's had. But outside of Arsenal, I think a lot of people just don't really appreciate him. And they should because he's one hell of a player."

White is one of Arteta's most trusted men at the back, featuring in 37 games across competitions this season. With Takehiro Tomiyasu injured for the remainder of the season, one can expect the Englishman to feature prominently in the Spanish tactician's starting XI.

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Mikel Arteta says Arsenal deserved to beat Leeds United

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal deserved their win against Leeds United and that he was happy with the team's performance at the Emirates.

Speaking after the win, the former Manchester City assistant manager said (h/t Arseblog.news):

"I’m very happy. We had quite a few things going on in the last few days, but the team responded very well to all of them. It was a tricky game and a tricky opponent, but overall I think we deserved to win the game. They played with a lot of organisation and desire. We had a couple of moments when we lost the ball in dangerous areas."

The Gunners kept 68% of the ball against the Whites and managed 13 shots as compared to the visitors' seven. They are on a seven-game winning run in the league and are on course to win their first league title since the 2003-04 campaign.

Arteta's side have amassed 72 points from 29 games and lead Manchester City, who have a game in hand, by eight points. Their next task will be an away league clash against eighth-placed Liverpool on April 9.