BBC journalist shares what he noticed about Ben White when Marcelo Bielsa shouted at him at Leeds

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Everyone at Leeds United knew Benjamin White would be going right to the top following his time at Elland Road.

It is very unsurprising to see White doing so well at Arsenal with the 26-year-old having coasted through Championship matches on a weekly basis, though that was at centre-back, rather than right-back.

There was certainly a reason Leeds made numerous big money attempts to sign White on a permanent basis from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020, but unfortunately the Seagulls knocked them all back and went on to sell him for £50 million a year later.

White has certainly had the opportunity to work under some top coaches during his career, with Marcelo Bielsa certainly being one of them. Bielsa really helped take his game onto that next level.

Under Bielsa, White played both in central defence and midfield, and speaking on the latest episode of BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, journalist Rory Smith has shared what he once noticed about the Arsenal man at Leeds which showed he would go to the top.

White’s education under Bielsa has helped Arteta adaptation

He said: “My most impressive Ben White moment, I remember going to see Leeds in the year they got promoted, and it was at the end of the season in the bit after Covid. The stadium was empty, it was when Bielsa was at Leeds and Ben White started the game at centre half.

“Can’t remember who Leeds were playing but I think they had to win to get within two points of promotion or something. He started at centre half and it wasn’t really working in attack so Bielsa started changing it.

“There was a five minute period where Ben White had to play in four different positions and you could hear what Bielsa was shouting at him. After a while he looked completely non plussed, had no idea where he was meant to be but did as he was told and every time in the two minutes in which he had the ball he looked completely comfortable wherever he sent him.

“You could tell then he was clearly head and shoulders above most of the players on the pitch. He just looked like a hugely talented footballer.”

Though his management career is still very much in its infancy, Mikel Arteta is also renowned for his attention to detail like Bielsa and so there is no doubt the stuff he learned under the Argentine has stood him in good stead.

In White’s first season at Arsenal, he was in his original position of centre-back but has spent the last one-and-a-half at full-back, where he has gone from strength to strength and looked the part.

Had he not had that time under Bielsa with such attention to detail, he may not have slotted in so effortlessly to these positional changes at the Emirates.