“I’d probably still go with [Marcus] Rashford, I think he’s the toughest I’ve played against,” Ben White said in an interview with Men In Blazers, and the line has a bit of weight behind it. White has faced Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Son Heung-min as well, yet he still put Marcus Rashford at the top of the list. That is a strong endorsement from someone who has spent years dealing with elite attackers.
White’s verdict on Rashford
The quote matters because it comes from a defender who is not short of high-level reference points. White has been around enough top-end Premier League attacks to make the comparison credible, and Rashford is the name he still reaches for.
White’s own early-season numbers also show he is involved rather than on the edge of things. He has made 2 Premier League appearances this season and already logged 189 minutes, including the full 90 in Arsenal’s most recent league match. His Premier League rating is 6.64, which fits the picture of a player doing the job without much noise around him.
Arsenal’s training watch before Napoli
The wider Arsenal angle is the fitness check around the squad. White heavily strapped his right knee before heading out onto the grass, while Saliba and Mosquera were absent from training. Sources disagreed on whether the movement looked like injury or simple fatigue, so the sensible read is still caution rather than a firm diagnosis.
Arsenal also have recent European form to lean on, after winning each of last season's eight league-phase games. That is the standard Mikel Arteta keeps pointing back to, and it gives the club a clear benchmark before Napoli.
White signed from Brighton for £50 million in July 2021 and is approaching 200 games for Arsenal, so his view carries the sort of authority that comes from being in the middle of the side, not just around it. If he is fit enough to keep starting, the Rashford praise will sit alongside Arsenal’s own selection questions going into the next round of preparation.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
