Mikel Arteta says Ben White will be out for ‘months’ | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has revealed that Ben White will be out for a number of months following surgery.

The news will come as a blow to Arsenal as they have had a lot of high-profile injuries in the last three months that have hindered the team’s progress and seen them fall to nine points behind leaders Liverpool.

On White, Arteta said: “Ben is gonna be out for months unfortunately. It’s been different kinds of struggles. It’s never been the same thing. We had to make a decision. It’s not been improving in the last few weeks unfortunately. We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point a where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and unfortunately that’s going to keep him out for a few months.”

The news is compounded by the injury struggles of Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu, neither of whom will be available for a few weeks.

Asked what he had been doing during the international break, Arteta said: “Analysing why we haven’t won games. Is that because the opponent is superior to us? The clear answer is no. Should we have won more of those games? The answer is yes. Do I like what the team is doing? The answer is yes, but we have to improve certain things in terms of how we are defending and attacking the box especially.”

Arsenal won just two out of their last seven games in all competitions before the break, which has also seen them fall four points second-places behind Manchester City.

City boss Pep Guardiola has extended his contract by two years and Arteta had only good things to say: “If it’s what he really wants – and I’m sure it is – then congratulate him. I already have. I’m happy for him because I want the best for him.”