Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League with a thumping 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Reiss Nelson brace earned Mikel Arteta's side an important victory at the Emirates Stadium. It was a win that lifted them back above Manchester City into top spot, with the Gunners dropping just five points from a possible 36 so far this season.
Although the plaudits will go to the attacking players for another exciting performance, someone who has gone under the radar is Ben White. The 25-year-old, who made the £50million switch to the Gunners from Brighton last summer, has often been criticised for his physicality but put in a rock-solid display at the back as Arsenal swept aside Forest.
With William Saliba partnering Gabriel at centre-back, White has shifted over to the right side of defence and he has taken to the new role well. The former Leeds United man started the season more defensively, but has been growing in confidence as the campaign as gone on, and now loves to go forward at every opportunity.
White is able to burst forward and create two-vs-one opportunities when Arsenal are playing against a low block - with Forest putting every man behind the ball whenever they could. He took advantage of the Reds' lack of attacking output and spent the majority of the game in the Reds half.
In actual fact, Forest only managed three touches in the Arsenal penalty area throughout the first-half, demonstrating their failure to trouble the Gunners at all. But White was productive when he got into dangerous positions, creating two chances and completing 71 passes throughout the game.
Should Ben White be in the England squad for the World Cup? Let us know in the comments below!
Unfortunately for White, he wasn't able to add another assist to his tally after setting up Granit Xhaka last time out, but it shouldn't take anything away from White's performance. Some Arsenal fans have praised White on social media and are recognising the 'unsung' work that he is doing at the moment.
One said on Reddit : "His performance always goes under the radar, but what a player." Another added: "If this dude is not on the plane the England manager is an idiot."
A fan continued: "Definitely not under the radar, think he is the perfect companion for Saliba." A reply to that comment said: "Same point I wanted to bring up, he makes life so much easier for Saliba. Teams often don't seem to want to attack down their left because of White on that side, and if they go at the centre of our defense White always seems to be there to clean anything up. Ben White does it all!"
With the World Cup just under three weeks away, White is putting in these performances at the perfect time and will no doubt be in Gareth Southgate's mind ahead of the tournament. Regardless of his international status, he is carving out a reputation amongst Arsenal fans as their unsung hero during a stunning campaign.
