Ben White further amplified the Arsenal supporters’ love for him with his actions in their recent 2-0 win against Aston Villa at Villa Park. After having lost both their matches to Unai Emery side in the 2023/24 season, the Gunners slayed ghosts of their past with a gritty win against the Villans in an eventful game.
But it wasn’t easy for Arsenal to seal the match and they had to also endure some ‘dirty tactics’ from the Aston Villa players, who tried best at riling up their opponents. Perhaps the most mischievous character for the hosts was their captain John McGinn himself, as he tried some sleezy stuff in an effort to get an Arsenal player sent off.
In the first half, McGinn received the ball in the byline but kept on playing even after the referee had blown his whistle for a foul on William Saliba. The Aston Villa midfielder slammed a shot right into the French centre-back as he was down on the ground, riling up the Arsenal players and the Gooners sitting right beside where the incident happened.
But White was not one to let this pass. The ball fell right to him after ricocheting from Saliba’s body and in a moment of rage, he also slammed a powerful shot right at the Aston Villa player to bring him down on his butt. McGinn tried his best to play the victim in the situation, but the referee was not having any of it.
White was not booked or reprimanded for his actions because he argued to have struck the ball thinking that it was still in play and that he only wanted to clear it for a throw-in. But the Arsenal fans realized just what he was doing in delivering an instant dose of karma to the Scottish midfielder for trying to anger his teammate.
This incident soon went viral all over social media, with White becoming the darling of Arsenal fans for standing up for his teammate and continue being a wild character on the pitch. But it appears that some supporters have also been able to dig up a moment from before even the ball was kicked in the match.
The Aston Villa-Arsenal match at Villa Park saw its kick-off time slightly delayed due to technical issues faced by the referee. The players had a lot of time standing beside each other in the tunnel and footage from the tunnel shows White giving a death stare to McGinn before they went inside the pitch together.
Some Gooners believe that White had some beef with the Aston Villa man before that incident happened based on how angrily he can be seen staring at him in the tunnel. This has only attracted even more praise for the Arsenal full-back, with fans praising his unique character and how devoted the Englishman is in supporting his teammates on the pitch and ensuring that his side wins every game.
White’s anger towards McGinn could stem right from the 2023/24 clash between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park. It was the Scottish midfielder who scored the only goal in Villa’s 1-0 win in that game and the English full-back looked to be determined to ensure that McGinn would not pose any goal threat to his side this time around.
To his credit, the Gunners ensured that with some solid defending from White & co as well as the heroics of David Raya – who made a couple of exceptional saves. But the Arsenal right-back’s actions at Villa Park was the perfect warning signal that if anybody wants to act funny with the Gunners’ players, then this rapid defender will be on their tail for a fitting payback.
