Arsenal pundit slams Gary Neville for ‘sloppy’, ‘lazy’ verdict over 28y/o star

Former Arsenal star Perry Groves has criticised Gary Neville after he accused Ben White of being ‘weak’ in the build-up to the Arsenal star’s injury on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta named White in his starting eleven for the trip to West Ham United, with fellow right-back Jurrien Timber still recovering from an ankle injury. However, White had to be substituted just 28 minutes into the game as he injured his knee while tackling Crysencio Summerville.

Martin Zubimendi replaced the Englishman, while Declan Rice surprisingly switched to right-back.

Arsenal went on to win the game 1-0 thanks to Leandro Trossard’s 83rd-minute strike, which was followed by one of the biggest calls in VAR’s history.

White was seen leaving the London Stadium in a knee brace, and Arsenal have since confirmed he has sustained a ‘significant medial ligament injury’.

It is a brutal turn of events for the full-back, who will not return to action until pre-season. He will miss Arsenal’s Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain and the World Cup, having recently been recalled to the England squad by Thomas Tuchel.

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On Sky Sports, Neville questioned White’s decision-making, suggesting he caused the injury himself by not properly going into the challenge.

“Ben White just hangs his leg there. It’s poor from the right-back,” Neville said.

“He’s up against Summerville; he’s got to be stronger than that. He’s hurt himself there.

“That’s easily prevented if you go in strong and with a real sturdy block. He’s hung his leg out in pretty weak fashion, you’re asking for trouble.”

However, ex-winger Groves has hit back at Neville, claiming it is part of an agenda against White.

“It’s lazy, it’s complete lazy punditry,” he told talkSPORT.

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“Because Ben White didn’t pull out of the challenge, it was a 50/50.

“Declan Rice, Summerville tackled him first, and then the ball has spun out, and if you look at it, they both [Summerville and White] go [for the ball].

“And what happens is, because Ben White has gone in with a block tackle, his side foot, his knee joint then comes out.

“And Summerville’s knee hits the inside of his knee, so your joint is hyper-extended and that’s where you get the impact, and he’s probably done some ligament damage.

Gary Neville commentary ‘very lazy’ amid possible agenda

“So I think it was just very lazy, where it seemed like he [Neville] just wanted to criticise because of Ben White’s reputation that he doesn’t like football.

“I think it was just sloppy and too easy, because 100 per cent, he did not pull out of that tackle. No chance.”

Arteta is facing a selection headache at right-back for Arsenal’s final three games of the season as they chase an historic Premier League and Champions League double.

It would be risky to put Rice there again, as he is one of the best midfielders in the world.

The most likely option seems to be Cristhian Mosquera, who mainly plays as a centre-half but can operate at right-back if needed.

But Mosquera lacks big-game experience, which could be a concern for Arsenal fans going into the clash with PSG’s electric left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

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