Ben White opens up on early struggles in football before his Arsenal and England glory

It's safe to say that Arsenal's £50 million summer signing Ben White is having a stellar first season in north London, under the stewardship of Mikel Arteta.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion centre half came under severe criticism following his disappointing debut against Brentford, with pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville arguing that physical opposition strikers could target him.

But certainly, mitigating circumstances were clearly apparent as White was surrounded by individuals who offered minimal support in Pablo Mari and Callum Chambers on the day.

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What's clearly apparent is that from the moment Arteta has had the opportunity to maintain team selection continuity and have the spine of the team intact, White has delivered on a regular basis.

Whether it's a physical forward who likes to drop deep and hold the ball up or a more dynamic striker who makes threatening runs in behind, the former Leeds defender has shown countless examples of being able to deal with anything that comes his way.

The performances delivered left Gareth Southgate with no choice but to select White in his latest 24-man squad, where he should add to his two caps over the next few days as England face Switzerland and Ivory Coast in friendlies at Wembley.

But despite the fact that the defender has endured great spells for Leeds, Brighton and now Arsenal, life wasn't easy for White during his early days, especially in 2014 when he was rejected by Southampton aged just 16.

"I got told I wasn’t going to get anything; Mum took me and our chat was a little quiet on the way home. I didn’t know if I wanted to carry on, it was obviously tough not