Rarely do we see any English player who enjoys using tricks and cunning like Ben White. The recent incident of removing the gloves of Tottenham’s goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario wasn’t even that alarming. Before that, there were many sly tricks that only Ben White could come up with.
White’s cunning trickery led to a painful defeat for Tottenham.
In the match between Tottenham and Arsenal in the 35th round of the Premier League, Arsenal defender Ben White was caught attempting to remove the gloves of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Spurs. This incident occurred in the 15th minute of the match. Arsenal was awarded a corner kick, and White approached Vicario. Then, the television cameras slowed down twice before detecting Ben White stealthily loosening Vicario’s gloves. This action took place just seconds before Arsenal scored to take the lead.
In Arsenal’s second goal scored by Kai Havertz in the 38th minute, White once again resorted to his tricks. The Arsenal defender continuously pressured the Tottenham goalkeeper, whispering something into Vicario’s ear, pulling his gloves, obscuring his vision, and even pushing the opponent into the goal… White’s actions distracted Vicario and prevented him from stopping Havertz’s header.
White surreptitiously removed Vicario’s gloves
After this match, the incident of Ben White’s “antics” was shared on social media and amused many Arsenal fans. One supporter wrote: “Benny Blanco (Ben White’s nickname) is quickly becoming my favorite player.” Another comment remarked: “We must protect Ben White at all costs.”
While Arsenal fans celebrated White’s playfulness, many football fans worldwide deemed it unsportsmanlike. Tottenham supporters questioned how Ben White could escape… VAR!
When asked if White was cheating or playing unfairly, Coach Postecoglou said: “It’s a tactic. You can call it what you want, but it’s a tactic. I won’t comment on it. I’m just focused on building the team to win.”
“If it’s not those tricks, it’ll be some other kind of disruption. Whether White tries to remove gloves or whispers… I don’t care. I won’t tell players to pay attention to such antics. What should Vicario do? Punch him in the face and knock him out? Or beg: Please don’t touch me? We’re not children here. Honestly, if I see one of my players doing that, I’d say: What do you think you’re doing? Take the ball and play nicely!”
Not the first time
This isn’t the first time White has used antics to unsettle opponents. He previously pulled a similar trick on goalkeeper Jason Steele of Brighton earlier this season. In that instance, White waited until the referee looked away, then patted Steele on the shoulder and poked him in the head.
White secretly tapped Steele’s body
In the match against Chelsea last month, White grabbed Marc Cucurella’s armpit and pulled him down to the ground. Then, White looked surprised and said to Cucurella, ‘What are you doing down there?’ before innocently looking at the referee.
White intentionally pulled Cucurella
The Chelsea defender was dragged to the ground
White appeared innocent
But not only does White employ tricks against opponents, he’s also very clever in knowing his positioning and how to affect the ball situation inside the penalty area. When Declan Rice took a shot after a corner kick, White cleverly moved to avoid the ball.
To counter White’s antics, opponents have had to assign a specific player to mark him during set-piece situations. In the second half of the match between Tottenham vs Arsenal, Coach Postecoglou assigned Pape Sarr to tightly mark White during Arsenal’s corner kicks. This tactical adjustment aimed to prevent White from unsettling goalkeeper Vicario.
Aston Villa also adopted a similar strategy by assigning John McGinn to push White away from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Brentford had a similar idea back in March when Vitaly Janelt was tasked with tightly marking White. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken even used his defender as a buffer to push him away. However, White reacted by leaning backward until the last defender pushed him to the ground.
White intentionally fell down while arguing with goalkeeper FlekkenIn the match against Burnley, White and Zeki Amdouni ran around goalkeeper James Trafford as both tried to prevent each other’s antics. White even collided with the goalpost while attempting to separate Amdouni.
White and Amdouni played tag with each other
Porto is believed to have done the best job in protecting their goalkeeper from White. They employed a similar disruptive tactic and constantly complained to the referee. In one instance, when White tried to interfere with goalkeeper Diogo Costa, Alan Varela used his hands to hold White firmly to prevent him.
Varela had to stand between White and goalkeeper Costa
When heavily marked by opponents, White has a countermeasure. In the match against West Ham, he didn’t stand near goalkeeper Alphonse Areola before the free kick was taken. Only when the ball was delivered into the penalty area did White sneak behind Areola and timed a gentle collision to coincide with the goalkeeper’s backward movement. The West Ham goalkeeper lost balance, and William Saliba easily headed the ball into the net. After completing the task, White calmly left the “crime scene” as if nothing had happened.
White intentionally collided with Areola so his teammate could comfortably head the ball
White’s nuisance can cause goalkeepers to become overly focused on him, creating opportunities for other Arsenal players. For instance, Arsenal scored their first two goals in the match against Crystal Palace in January through floated corner kicks. In both instances, goalkeeper Dean Henderson was solely focused on White’s antics.
It’s highly likely that in the upcoming matches, referees will pay closer attention to White’s antics. It’s not a coincidence that Arsenal has become the team with the most goals (16 goals) from corner kicks in the Premier League this season.