Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised "fighter" Ben White for recovering from some unspecified "issues" to shine for the Gunners in their 4-1 win over Leeds United on Saturday.
The right-back took to the field against his former club at the Emirates Stadium on the back of a quiet international break, having been left out of Gareth Southgate's latest England squad.
Despite failing to make waves on the international stage, White has been one of Arsenal's most consistent performers in the 2022-23 season and bagged his second goal for the club at the Emirates this weekend.
Only a few weeks after opening his account for the club in their 3-2 win over Bournemouth, White crashed home at the back post from Gabriel Martinelli's cross to score Arsenal's second against Leeds.
The Gunners have been left short at right-back with Takehiro Tomiyasu's season-ending knee surgery, and Arteta waxed lyrical about White - who left the warm-up early - for shaking off an unspecified problem to continue his fine form in red and white.
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"He had some issues in the last few days but he's a big fighter and he wanted to be here," football.london quotes Arteta as saying in his post-game press conference.
"With the injury of Tomi we are a bit short in that position. He scored a goal as well which is good news for him and he was very good again. As a manager when he puts the ball in the back of the net it's great. If he doesn't and then we have an open space on the counter not so much. But he's timing those runs really well.
"He's a threat there and on set pieces he's improved so much, to bring attention and drag spaces from the opponent. I'm really happy with him."
Prior to White's strike, Gabriel Jesus - making his first Premier League start since before the World Cup - broke the deadlock from the penalty spot for his first goal since October 1, but the Gunners were not at their free-flowing best in the first half.
However, Arteta's men looked more like their usual selves in the second period, as Jesus and Granit Xhaka rounded off a second successive 4-1 win, with Leeds netting a consolation through Rasmus Kristensen.
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Arteta was unsurprisingly left overjoyed with Jesus's contribution, adding: "Delighted for him. They all were. We were all clapping for him.
"He's been working so hard for the last for or five months with a lot of support from the team and the staff. Today he deserved the chance to start. He grabbed the opportunity with a lot of conviction and with two goals."
Meanwhile, there was yet another assist for Leandro Trossard - who set up Jesus's second for his seventh assist in an Arsenal shirt - and Arteta expressed his "love" for the Belgian.
"We knew about his quality and what he could bring to the team. He can play, right left, he can play as a midfielder he can be a false nine. He's really contributing to the team. He's taking responsibility to make that happen and we love him," the Spaniard said.
Arsenal remain eight points clear of Manchester City having played a game more than the champions, and they have eight days to recover before a daunting trip to Liverpool on April 9.
Ben Knapton
