DBasia.news – Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn warned fans that Ben White would take six months to adjust before he can be really judged.
White, who completed a 50 million pounds move to the Emirates Stadium from Brighton Hove & Albion in the summer transfer window, has had a less than ideal start to his north London career.
The England defender was targeted in Brentford’s win over the Gunners in their Premier League opener of the season, showing that he was not good enough in the air.
The 23-year-old player contracted Covid-19 following the defeat to Brentford, ruling him out of the next two league games against Chelsea and Manchester City, which made Mikel Arteta’s side concede nine goals in just three games.
But White and Arsenal have kept clean sheets in their last two Premier League games, defeating Norwich City and Burnley 1-0 on successive weekends.
But White made a fatal mistake in his last game against Burnley at Turf Moor which almost cost Arsenal. He backpassed goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, but his shot was too weak and allowed Matej Vydra to come in and intercept the ball.
Vydra attempted to outwit Ramsdale and referee Anthony Taylor initially pointed to the penalty spot after the Clarets striker fell, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review showed Ramsdale had won the ball legally.
And Winterburn, who made more than 400 appearances during his 13-year stay at Arsenal, begged for patience with White as he thinks the defender needs time to adapt.
“Ben White needs time to adapt to Arsenal. When I played, and even now when I do the analysis, we have to give the players six months to adapt to the club,” Winterburn told Paddy Power.
“But when you spend 50 million pounds and you’re pushed into the first team, you’re on trial immediately. You come to a historically great team. They are one of the biggest teams in the league, despite being in a difficult period.
“He will be judged differently when he is at Brighton. I don’t know if he appears nervous or agitated, but he needs time to adapt and play with that back four.
“If I was a manager and gave him advice, what I would tell him is decision making. Playing from behind is all about risk assessment.
“It doesn’t matter what the manager asks you to do, if Ben thinks it’s too risky to do that, he has to take other options. He has to think more when he plays.”