Ben White
Kalau boleh bermimpi, saya sebetulnya ingin melihat Ben White bermain di (salah satu) final paling grande buat Arsenal sejauh ini, yaitu Liga Champions vs PSG.
Ben adalah salah satu penghuni gerbong awal proyek Arteta. Dia bermain di begitu banyak match dengan menahan rasa sakit karena cedera. Dia mengorbankan masa depannya untuk membantu Arsenal.
Sudah begitu, katanya, Ben juga pemain yang nggak peduli sama dunia sepak bola di luar berlatih dan bermain.
Namun, dia yang dikabarkan se-cuek itu, ternyata sangat peduli dengan entitas yang memberinya kehidupan bernama Arsenal. Saya rasa pengorbanan seperrti ini sudah melebihi makna dedikasi untuk "SEBUAH KANTOR".
Maka, ya, saya bermimpi melihat Ben White mencetak gol kemenangan di panggung terakhir Liga Champions. Meski sayang, cedera membekap kaki kanannya. Dia hanya akan menonton, dan mendukung, dari sisi lapangan.
Jadi, di akhir perjuangan musim ini, saya berharap Arsenal bisa menjadi juara. Untuk membayar kesabaran dan rasa sakit fans. Untuk memberi kebahagiaan kepada pemain yang sudah berkorban banyak, seperti Ben White.
Ada amin, jemaah Arsenal?
Mikel Arteta, at 2-years-old, was one of the first ever babies to receive major, life-saving open heart procedure in Spain.
William Saliba lost his father at 17 and mother two years later. He now wears number 17 for France and number 2 for Arsenal.
Piero Hincapié was once in Spain for the holidays when his cousin got kidnapped, with the kidnappers demanding $1 million from him as ransom.
Gabriel Magalhaes was attacked by three men at his home in North London, one of them swung a bat at him, but Gabriel wrestled the man until him and his cohorts ran away.
Bukayo Saka missed a penalty for England and got bamboozled, alongside other black players who missed, with thousands of racist messages nonstop.
Noni Madueke rushed to join Arsenal with excitement, only to open his socials to see all sorts of insults and death threats spanning several days from Arsenal fans warning him not to join. He still joined and has said nothing but great things about the club and fans.
Aaron Ramsdale and his wife lost their child while still in the womb. After the miscarriage, Arteta offered him leave, but he refused. Three days later, he gave a Man of the Match performance in Arsenal's 2-0 win against Tottenham, where he was kicked in the back by a Tottenham fan after the final whistle.
Leandro Trossard went through a divorce during the run-in to the title, with his wife deleting all their pictures together. He still gave amazing performances through all the final games of the season that led us to the title.
Bottomline: You don't know what our players have gone through or are going through. As a fan, a little kindness and understanding goes a long way.
Benjamin White. Trust me, I will never forget your services to my football club. Rolled back the years with a superb display. Body on line, playing through pain during his best years. Warrior, soldier, fighter, fans favourite.
#AFC | Ben F*cking White man, nah what a Player.
Unreal, he’s been criticised for being poor defensively but that was one of the best FB performances i’ve seen. So good in possession as well, his pass selection is UNREAL!
Ben White, respect his f*cking name.
I’ll never trash Ben White. You won’t get that from me. 🔴
He’s given everything to this project. Him, Saka, Gabriel, Saliba — the core that carried us.
From 21/22 to 23/24, Ben White was relentless.
Playing every few days, consistently delivering 8/10 performances.
Always available. Always demanding the ball. Always up for the fight.
Doing the dirty work, the details, the things people don’t always notice.
He played through injuries too. That night at St James’ — strapped up, still showing up when we needed him.
Very few deserve to lift trophies here more than him.
Now he’s coming back from burnout and injuries. This is when he needs support, not noise.
Let’s back him. He’s earned that.
Benjamin White ❤️
#COYG #Arsenal