Arsenal dealt main damage blow as key defender compelled off in agony vs West Ham
Mikel Arteta suffered a major injury blow after he was forced to make a first-half substitution following an injury to one of his key defenders against West Ham
Ben White was forced off injured vs West Ham
Arsenal defender Ben White was forced off in agony during the first-half of the Gunners’ clash against West Ham.
White will be left sweating over his potential World Cup involvement for England after he came off worse in a 50-50 challenge with Crysencio Summerville midway through the first-half at the London Stadium.
The 28-year-old was left in agony on the turf and received treatment when the West Ham attack had been halted by Summerville fouling Leandro Trossard. Martin Zubimendi was immediately readied by Arteta with the game goalless.
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White was able to return to his feet and gingerly walked around the outside of the pitch with his arm around Arsenal’s physio while wincing in obvious pain due to his apparent knock on the knee.
Gary Neville on commentary criticised White for causing the injury himself by not going into the tackle wholeheartedly, seeing him come off second best. Neville said on Sky Sports: “It’s easy to defend if you go in strong, he did it in a weak fashion.”
Arteta named the same starting line-up for the third game in succession – the first time the Spaniard had done so in two years. But he was forced to introduce Zubimendi a lot earlier than expected, forcing a tactical change.
Despite having defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie on the bench, neither player was called upon. Meaning Declan Rice was moved out of the centre of midfield to play at right-back, with Myles Lewis-Skelly not playing at right-back for Arsenal before despite being deployed at left-back on numerous occasions.
White’s injury halted Arsenal’s momentum and saw West Ham grow into the game after a bright start by the visitors.
Leandro Trossard forced a brilliant save from Mads Hermansen before hitting the post with the rebound. The Belgian’s efforts were the closest either team had come to breaking the deadlock.
