Knee high socks and tanned complexion present a pretty boy image. The slogan “I don’t like watching football” suggests a footballer with superficial emotional investment.
It’s a deceptive facade. Ben White is Arsenal’s secret agent (at least until recently) of black magic.
He uses these preconceptions and stereotypes as a cloak to brandish the mischievous character beneath: the old-school clearance salesman, also known in the modern era as the master of the house.
Rather than opting for the archetype of the cheeky chappie, the big pub boy, White’s pest-chic approach is a reinvention of the craft.
Of all the players embarking on this villain arc, it’s funny that the one who made headlines for not enjoying watching football is the one who uses the tricks of the trade to get inside his opponents’ heads.
His aloof interview style juxtaposed with his poker game sense makes for perfect ‘memorable’ content – and social media has been full of it over the last fortnight.
White was exceptional in the second half of the season with his no-holds-barred running. Unfortunately for opposing goalies, the only thing he has more stamina for is making their lives a misery.
This is Arsenal’s phantom menace, the nuisance in chief, Nicolas Jover’s Trojan horse, Double O Four.
Call it what you want, it’s entertaining.
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario felt a presence over his shoulder as he prepared for Arsenal’s opening corner of Sunday’s north London derby.
Vicario turned to see the intriguing face of Arsenal right-back White. A second after he thought the coast was clear, a right hand reached from behind and pulled at the Velcro on his right glove.
Ben White was spotted trying to loosen Vicario’s gloves in a corner 👀 pic.twitter.com/UQN1mYR7MH
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 28, 2024
The Italian raised his arms in protest. White smiled. Five seconds later, the ball was in the Spurs goal.
Spurs had no one to mark White and he used it to sneak past Vicario before cutting back at the goalkeeper, tackling him in the middle of his goal.
Vicario had to physically drag White aside so he could reach his near post, but that meant he was not settled by the time the ball was headed into his own goal by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
It was a vintage white distraction technique. He did exactly the same thing in the 38th minute for Kai Havertz’s goal: the word in the ear, the tug on the glove, the dart in front and the step back.
This time he pushed the goalkeeper behind his line but, as usual, he was smart enough to get back into play immediately afterwards, so he didn’t interfere as the German headed home him.
“It’s a strategy,” said Tottenham manager Ange Postocoglou. “You can label it, but it’s a strategy. I don’t have much interest in that sort of thing, I never have. I’m not judging, but I don’t care. If people think it will give them an advantage or whatever, I don’t worry about that sort of thing. I’m just trying to focus on building teams that win things.
“If it’s not this (undoing the gloves), then it will be something else. Who cares? I know it’s good theater. Whether he tries to undo his glove, tickle his armpits or whatever, I don’t care. I try to make sure my players don’t worry about things like that. It does not matter. And if you want to go down that avenue, what is he (Vicario) supposed to do? Turn around and punch him and knock him out, or say, “Please don’t touch me”? What does it do ?
“Seriously, we’re not in the schoolyard. That’s never been where my attention is. To be honest, if I saw one of my players doing that, I’d be like, “Dude, seriously? Get the ball and play soccer. That’s not to say it’s not a strategy that can’t be used, but I don’t care.
White pulled a similar trick against Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jason Steele this season when he waited for the referee to look away and then tapped him on the shoulder to get in his head.
Anyone who has played soccer knows the twists and turns that can happen during a match, especially in dead ball situations. A pinch on the arm here, a stomping on the toes there, maybe even a grabbing of the nether regions if it’s a particularly frigid afternoon.
Against Chelsea last month, White opted for the subtle move of grabbing his marker Marc Cucurella by the armpits and slamming him to the ground as if he had scored an ippon.
White looked at him with a perplexed expression that said, “What are you doing there?” before looking innocently at the referee.
White balances childish antics with a clear mind about where he is and how he affects the penalty area in a positive way for his team.
When Arsenal took advantage of a shooting opportunity in the same short corner, he moved to put himself in play, then moved wide to avoid Declan Rice’s shot. When the ball ricocheted towards him, he was able to stay calm and take the ball home.
It’s tempting to wonder when, as coach Jover was putting together his playbook, he stumbled upon White’s propensity to annoy, but the defender revels in the job of disrupting the goalkeeper’s read on the trajectory of the ball.
“There are all kinds. Stand up, elbows up. It’s good. I just have to get in the way and see what happens,” White said in an interview this year.
Aston Villa sought to counter this by entrusting John McGinn, whose hunchback style makes him almost impossible to move, with the responsibility of escorting him away from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez like a nightclub bouncer at 3am.
Brentford had a similar idea in March when Vitaly Janelt was given the task of White goalkeeper. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken even used his defender as a cushion to push him away, but White simply planted his feet, made himself a dead weight and leaned back until the defender finally let him fall.
There are occasions when his movement is loud to the point of appearing ridiculous. If a defender tries to bully him, it usually only provokes him into doing so with the threat of a teenager bullying his much younger brother, who he knows can’t fight back.
Against Burnley, his battle with Zeki Amdouni resulted in both players literally running circles around James Trafford at one point, while at another he collided with the post as he attempted to get rid of its marker.
Porto arguably did the best job of protecting their goalkeeper by employing equally disruptive tactics and relentlessly pleading with the referee before the ball was delivered.
This put the Whites under the spotlight and, as he attempted to circle Diogo Costa on his line, Argentine midfielder Alan Varela kept one hand behind White’s back to ensure he was still between both.
There are games where he does not immediately position himself next to the goalkeeper on set pieces. Against West Ham he was beyond the back post, but when the ball was launched he slipped behind Alphonse Areola and timed the slight collision to coincide with the keeper’s retreat.
The Frenchman lost his balance as he struggled, presenting William Saliba with the easiest header.
There might have been eyes on White if he hadn’t perfected his ability to perform these “bumps” in a harmless manner. Once his work is done, he casually walks away from the scene of the crime, as if the mere suggestion that something untoward had happened would come as a shock to him.
White is clearly someone opposing teams are considering, but some goaltenders seem overly aware of him at times.
Arsenal scored their first two goals of the game against Crystal Palace in January via corners, with Dean Henderson barely trying to break free from White as he raised a hopeful arm.
White simply stood his ground and made no active attempt to hinder him.
Clearances aren’t limited to turns. There was then-Bournemouth player Jaidon Anthony’s petulant trip last season as he walked away with the ball in his hand from an Arsenal free-kick, a situation which White defused by laughing hysterically as the The referee was approaching.
In the second leg, a dramatic 3-2 victory, his immediate reaction after Reiss Nelson’s stoppage-time winner was to celebrate as Neto, who had left him a glove earlier in a corner.
Perhaps his exaggerated movements mean the referees are already so preoccupied with his shoving that it distracts from the blocking maneuvers elsewhere that help his teammates when they attack the ball.
As White’s cover is now exposed, he may have to adapt his tactics: referees will enter Arsenal games looking for any infringement on the goalkeeper.
This could mean he is now more likely to be penalized and goalkeepers could be more likely to highlight any contact.
Currently, however, White is playing a role in making Arsenal by far the most potent team (16 goals) from corners in the Premier League this season.
(Top photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)