“He did his job quietly and effectively” – Pundit salutes ‘outstanding’ Arsenal star for his display in win over Tottenham

BBC pundit Garth Crooks has heaped praise on Arsenal's Ben White after his display against Tottenham Hotspur on January 15. He claimed that the Englishman was effective in keeping Son Heung-Min quiet in the North London Derby.

Arsenal eased to a 2-0 win over Tottenham away in the Premier League on Sunday night in the North London Derby. The win helped the Gunners extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points after 18 matches in the Premier League season.

Writing in his BBC Column, Crooks was quick to pick White ahead of William Saliba and Grabiel in his Team of the Week. He claimed that the Englishman was more effective and wrote:

"Both Gabriel and William Saliba have featured in my teams this season but less so Ben White. I thought the defender was outstanding against Tottenham. He did his job quietly and effectively and dealt with the threat of Son Heung-min brilliantly. In fact there was a moment in the first half when he had Son in his pocket."

Crooks continued:

"This Arsenal side is unrecognisable from the team I saw begin the season. The back four now play as a unit and have stopped giving away stupid free-kicks in dangerous areas. This looks like a team that has found itself and means business. We all thought it might be Tottenham's year but that couldn't have been further from the truth."

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Arsenal building a strong foundation at the back

Arsenal have all their starting defenders on long-term deals except for William Saliba. They are keen on agreeing on a new deal with the Frenchman but are yet to get a breakthrough in talks.

Manager Mikel Arteta spoke about the situation earlier this month and said:

"We have a few of those [young players] that we are willing to extend the contract. Willy is one of them. I think he's shown in the months that he's been with us the quality and the personality he has to play at the level that we want. We are trying to do that because we know he can be a really important part of our plans. That's [contract talks] more to Edu and the board to be discussing with him."

Saliba was signed from Saint-Étienne in 2019 on a long-term contract that expires in 2024. The Gunners do have the option of extending the deal by another season.