Ben White decision, Arsenal and Martinelli injury latest, Man City preview | The Chris Wheatley Show
The Chris Wheatley Show is a brand new weekly series talking all things Arsenal and the Premier League. This week, Chris Wheatley and host Jason Jones reveal all about Ben White, Gabriel Martinelli, latest injury news and much more.
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00:00 People in the football industry, you've got Harry Redknapp going on
00:02 national radio calling his decision disgusting not to play for England. You've got Jermaine
00:08 Gienes punned it on Match of the Day saying it's a strange decision. My personal opinion is that
00:16 Ben White has made a decision which he should be respected for. I don't think he deserves
00:24 criticism. There's a lot of patriotism when it comes to playing for your country, especially
00:29 in England. I think there's almost a kind of superiority complex we have that players should
00:37 be so grateful to play for their country. And while it is, I'm sure, a really great honour for
00:42 a lot of players, perhaps other players just don't want to be involved and don't see it.
00:47 Hello, welcome to another episode of the Chris Wheatley Show, Shots TV's one-stop shop to keep
00:56 you in the know on all things Arsenal. I'm your host, Jason Jones. I'm joined, as always,
01:00 by Chris Wheatley. This week, we'll be talking about the international break. We'll be looking
01:04 ahead to the Arsenal's title defining clash with Manchester City. And as always, we'll be putting
01:09 your listener questions to Chris as well. So without further ado, Chris, no Arsenal action
01:14 to discuss from the weekend. We're in the midst of an international break. Plenty of
01:19 Arsenal players jetting off around the globe for various fixtures here and there, but a few that
01:24 aren't as well. Just wondering if you could give us a bit of an update on the squad and where
01:29 everybody's at at the moment. Yeah, absolutely. Good to be here as always, Jason. And I think
01:34 those Arsenal players are jetting around the world. Wouldn't it be nice to jet around the
01:41 world right now as a journalist? Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury, but we do have the
01:47 luxury of speaking about some of those players on international duty. And actually, there's quite a
01:53 few players staying at home, which is maybe a bit of a surprise because when you look at the amount
01:59 of international players that Arsenal have at the moment, there's quite a few. But fortunately for
02:05 Mikel Arteta, you could say, he has the luxury of having some of those players staying in London,
02:12 working on their fitness due to a number of different reasons. And we're going to go through
02:17 those. But the latest one was Gabriel, the Arsenal centre-back who withdrew from the Brazil squad
02:24 yesterday. They didn't actually have too far to go, Brazil. They're training at Arsenal's
02:30 training ground for their upcoming games against England and Spain. So they don't have too far to
02:36 go. Gabriel probably could just wake up in the morning as he usually does and train. So yeah,
02:43 Gabriel not involved in Brazil's squad. Gabriel Martinelli, the same with an injury. Gabriel
02:49 Jesus also sidelined. So the three Gabriels all out of Brazil's squad for those games. I think
02:57 that's good news for Arsenal. They have that big game against Manchester City coming up at the end
03:01 of the month. And that means that those players are going to be fully fresh and rested, you'd like
03:07 to think, for that big game at the Yeti Huts. So yeah, that's a brief overview of those Brazil
03:14 players. But there's also a number of other players like Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is staying
03:20 and working on his fitness, and Thomas Partey, who withdrew from Ghana's squad for their upcoming
03:26 games. He is not injured. Arsenal fans will be delighted to know he's not injured. He is working
03:33 on his fitness and fine-tuning his fitness ahead of that game against Manchester City. It's just
03:38 not worth the risk, I think, for Mikel Arteta. And I think with Ghana, they decided that he won't be
03:46 risked. So yeah, that's a brief overview. I haven't mentioned Ben White, of course. That's
03:51 a whole different situation altogether. There's no injury for Ben White. He decided that he doesn't
03:56 want to be called up to the England squad. Yeah, it's a really interesting situation,
04:02 the Ben White one, isn't it, Chris? Obviously, there's been a lot of talk about it since the
04:06 news broke that he sort of excluded himself from selection. Obviously, we know that he hasn't always
04:12 had the, shall we say, the smoothest relationship with the national squad, some withdrawals here
04:17 and there. Just interested to get your opinion on it, because the backlash has been quite harsh,
04:23 I think it's fair to say. Yeah, really harsh. Some really strong comments from people in the
04:30 football industry. You've got Harry Redknapp going on national radio calling his decision disgusting
04:35 not to play for England. You've got Jermaine Genas, a pundit on Match of the Day, saying
04:41 it's a strange decision. My personal opinion is that Ben White has made a decision which
04:49 he should be respected for. I don't think he deserves criticism. There's a lot of patriotism
04:56 when it comes to playing for your country, especially in England. I think there's almost
05:01 a kind of superiority complex we have that players should be so grateful to play for
05:09 their country. While it is, I'm sure, a really great honour for a lot of players,
05:13 perhaps other players just don't want to be involved and don't see it in the same vein.
05:18 I think Ben White has already played for his country. He was called up to the World Cup,
05:22 where of course he wasn't really involved. There's been some rumours that he fell out with
05:27 the assistant coach, Steve Holland. None of it's been substantiated. But I do think that Ben White
05:36 does deserve a bit more respect from those in the football industry. I think Harry Redknapp is
05:40 probably going a bit too far by saying it's disgusting that he's not playing for his country.
05:46 I personally think that, as I said, he deserves a bit more respect. His performances for Arsenal
05:52 this season have been superb. I think now Gareth Saltgate is in a bit of a position where he has to
05:59 acknowledge that Ben White does deserve a call-up to the squad. Maybe in the past, Ben White wouldn't
06:06 have been a starter for England, but you could argue now that he's probably the best right back
06:11 that England have and for sure that Arsenal have. It's an interesting decision. I'm interested to
06:18 hear what you think as well, James.
06:21 Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with you, Chris. I think that obviously, as football fans, as people
06:28 who consume the game, the instinct is to think, "Why on earth wouldn't you want to play for your
06:33 country?" But at the same time, if Ben White has reached a decision and if he feels that it's the
06:39 best thing for him not to play for England, then there is an element of, "You have to respect that.
06:44 You can't force him to put on the shirt, can you?" That is his prerogative. I do think that maybe
06:50 some of the pundit reaction is, like you say, perhaps being blinded a little bit by this
06:55 patriotism. But I also think it's worth pointing out, as you've alluded to there, that there's
07:00 probably an element of frustration as well. When you look at England's right back situation,
07:03 it is, generally speaking, one of our stronger positions. Do you think if everybody was fit,
07:10 Gareth Southgate would be choosing from the likes of Rhys James, Trent Alexander-Arnold,
07:14 Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, and then Ben White on top of that if he was available for selection?
07:19 As it happens, obviously, Alexander-Arnold and Rhys James are both out injured at the moment.
07:24 It limits Southgate's options a bit. But I do think it's absolutely fair to suggest that,
07:29 especially given these two friendlies, if Ben White was available for selection,
07:34 not only would he be in the squad, I would like to think that Southgate would have
07:38 potentially started him just to see what he could do in that position and how he would fit into the
07:42 team. I do think there is maybe an element of people looking at it and going, "Well,
07:47 England are, to an extent, being deprived of one of their better players here." But when all is said
07:52 and done, Ben White doesn't want to play for England. Ben White's not going to play for
07:55 England. Any amount of outlandish outcry from pundits or supporters or anybody is not going
08:03 to affect that. I agree. I'm not a fan of talking too much about players' personalities and their
08:16 characters and stuff because I think when we're talking about football as journalists, we should
08:20 really just be speaking about the football side of things. But I think nowadays maybe that's
08:24 changed a little bit and players are certainly open to showing their personalities more. Ben
08:29 White is someone who really admits in public that he doesn't like watching football outside of his
08:36 own analysis of games, of his own games. I think that's a really interesting and bold admission to
08:44 make when you're a professional footballer playing for Arsenal. A lot of football fans don't
08:49 understand that. They don't understand that Ben White just doesn't have that interest in football
08:53 that maybe the fans do. It really doesn't have any kind of effect on how he plays as we've seen this
09:00 season. He looks at his own clips, of course. He studies his own game and looks at improving
09:07 himself. But when it comes to sitting down and maybe watching a 90-minute match, he doesn't do
09:12 that. I think Ben White maybe just has his own view on things which maybe other people in football
09:20 just don't really understand because he's going against the grain. We've seen it before with
09:25 players who have gone against the grain. Hector Bellerin, as an example, is someone who really did
09:30 things differently in terms of his social media, his interest in fashion. He was really open in
09:36 showing his personality, which was different to a lot of other players. I think he got a lot of
09:41 criticism for that from fans. But now people give him a lot of respect and he gets a lot of
09:48 sponsorship deals as well for being unique. I think that's something that should be applauded
09:52 rather than criticised. But in terms of Ben White's decision, I think it's his own decision
09:59 that he deserves respect for. I think a lot of the criticism is really over the top.
10:09 Now, for all the focus is on international football for the next week or so, Chris,
10:14 there is obviously that huge game looming on the horizon for Arsenal. Manchester City on March 31st
10:20 in the Premier League, both clubs right there at the top of the table, City a point behind Arsenal
10:25 as things stand. But it really has the feeling of a fixture that could come to define this title
10:32 race. Just interested to get your thoughts on it at this early stage and if there are any previews
10:38 that you can potentially give us for that one?
10:40 Yeah, it's a big one, isn't it? Probably the biggest one of the season so far for
10:46 Arsenal and Manchester City. Look, I think Manchester City going to this game favourites,
10:51 it's at the Etihad so they have the home advantage, they have the fans on their side.
10:56 And I think their form has been pretty good this season at home. I think Arsenal do have,
11:03 of course, a chance of coming away with at least a point and maybe a shock win or a surprise win.
11:09 But it's not going to be easy, of course. And when you look at the
11:13 injuries, perhaps mounting up and players not going on international duty, I think that's
11:19 maybe a slight concern for Arsenal. They want to have a fully fit squad for that game.
11:23 I would suggest that perhaps Thomas Partey not going on international duty is a sign that he
11:30 may be. He's going to be involved from the start in that game at the Etihad. And I think Arsenal
11:35 need him. They really do look better when he plays in midfield. So I think Declan Rice and
11:40 Thomas Partey at the heart of that midfield is pretty fearsome for any Premier League team to
11:45 come up against. But... Join us again on the Chris Wheatley Show after these adverts.
11:58 Welcome back to the Chris Wheatley Show on Shots TV.
12:07 Yeah, it's going to be a really tough game. Looking at the stats, Man City have won five
12:16 of their previous six Premier League home games by a two goal winning margin. But they have
12:23 conceded first in two of their last three Premier League home games. So they're certainly not
12:27 a rock at the back. They certainly do have defensive frailties. Maybe frailty is a bit of
12:34 exaggeration, but they do have issues at least in games at home where they do concede goals. So
12:40 both teams have scored in three of Man City's last five Premier League home games. So
12:45 some interesting stats there. I think the biggest thing is Arsenal need to have that
12:50 fully fit squad and really do need to start strongly at City. But as we've seen with those
12:56 stats, even if they do go a goal behind City, they always seem to come back. So yeah, it's going
13:01 to be a tough one. But I think Arsenal's best chance of winning the league is this season. And
13:07 they need to go there and win if they're going to mount that title challenge and go as far as
13:11 possible. Do you think Michael Arteta will take any heart from City's recent performance against
13:19 Liverpool? Now obviously that was at Anfield and we do know that playing at the Etihad is a huge
13:23 factor for City. But there were times in that game where City almost looked human, didn't they?
13:28 They looked a little bit disordered, a little bit chaotic. And Liverpool were really able to cause
13:33 them some problems on occasion. Do you think that Arsenal will look at that and think that
13:39 potentially there is a blueprint there for which they can use to really hurt City?
13:43 I think so. I think with City they are just a machine, aren't they? In terms of the results,
13:49 they always seem to get over the line. And I think that's just because of the quality of their
13:55 squad, the quality of their players, the experience, the know-how. They have players who have won,
14:01 of course, the treble last season and many trophies before that. So they have a lot of
14:06 know-how in that squad compared to other teams. I think against Liverpool, of course, it was at
14:10 Anfield. I think the Jurgen Klopp factor certainly made a difference. I think really now the decision
14:17 of Klopp to announce his departure before the end of the season is actually giving them a little bit
14:22 of a boost in this back end of the campaign. I think Man City did well to get a point and
14:31 maybe were a bit fortuitous at times. This, I think, is a different game altogether because
14:36 it's a home match. Looking at City's previous results, of course, they have just won the FA
14:40 Cup game against Newcastle. It was a comfortable win. But then earlier this month they beat Man
14:46 United at home, FC Copenhagen at home. Last month, I guess when you're looking at the results against
14:52 the big six teams or whatever, they drew against Chelsea. And then let's have a look in January,
15:03 they won at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 3-2 away at Newcastle. I think really when you look
15:11 at their results this season, it's pretty impressive. They always seem to get those
15:15 victories when they need them. But let's not forget, Arsenal did win the reverse fixture
15:21 at the Emirates earlier on in the season. At the start of October, it was a 1-0 win for Arsenal.
15:26 If they can get anything like that kind of performance against City this time around,
15:33 I think they'll be very grateful. Like I said, I think it's just about making sure they have a
15:38 fully fit squad and then going all guns blazing. But they really do probably need that early goal
15:43 to settle any fears that they have.
15:45 Given how tight things are at the top, obviously Liverpool level on points with Arsenal at the
15:52 moment, City only a point behind, as we've said. Do you think a point is enough for Arsenal in this
15:59 game? Will they look at that as a point gained over City? Or do you think that they will look
16:04 at that as two points potentially lost in relation to Liverpool in their title challenge?
16:09 I think really they need to win every game this season now. Every game coming up is like a final.
16:19 Pep Guardiola has said that this game coming up is like a final to him. I think it's a must-win
16:25 match. Looking at the table, of course, Arsenal are in the lead. And just looking at the points,
16:35 Liverpool level on points, Manchester City a point behind those two. It could all change very
16:43 quickly but I think Arsenal right now are in the best position. So a draw certainly wouldn't be
16:48 the worst result. But Arsenal are the informed team. They've really been on absolute fire over
16:54 the past month, scoring four-plus goals in many games and really looking like a title contender
17:02 and potential champion. So yes, I think a point wouldn't be the worst result in the world but I
17:07 think Mikel Arteta's side are going to go there to win. And I think they're going to be confident
17:12 of getting three points, of course.
17:14 And just to put you on the spot a little bit, Chris, I've got to ask you, if you had to predict
17:21 it right now, which way would you call it? I'd probably go for the conservative option.
17:28 I'd go for a one-all draw. But like I said, I think Arsenal do have a good chance of coming
17:34 away with three points. And if the game plan goes as they expect, perhaps they could come
17:40 away with a 1-0 win or maybe even a 2-1 away win. We'll end, as always, with a few listener
17:50 questions, Chris. We'll start with one here from Joseph, who is asking about Uri and Timba
17:56 and his injury status at the moment. Obviously, we know that the Dutchman's been making good
18:00 progress, but is he any closer to returning to the first team?
18:03 Yes, barring any setbacks, Uri and Timba will be back after the international break. Of course,
18:10 we've been reporting on this injury, this is his recovery for the past few months. And
18:16 yes, he was always ahead of recovery, really. And to be back before the end of the season was always,
18:21 from Arsenal's point of view, going to be more of a hope than a guarantee. And I think
18:29 he's gone against all of those kind of expectations that the medical team had.
18:35 And he's back now. He's training with the first team and he's looking good in training as well.
18:42 So, yes, back after the international break, he'll be hoping to work his way back into that
18:47 team. It's going to be difficult, of course. We've spoken about Ben White, who's been
18:50 really outstanding at right back this season. So, yes, it's great news for him, great news for
18:57 the Michel Arteta and Arsenal. And yes, he'll be hoping to work his way back into that starting 11
19:02 before the end of the season.
19:03 Do you think, upon his return, that that is very much where he will be,
19:09 at least to begin with, cover for Ben White rather than a sort of starting option for
19:13 Michel Arteta, given how well the Englishman has played this season?
19:16 Well, we know he can also play left back at centre-back. He's a really versatile player.
19:23 But it remains to be seen exactly where he's going to play. I think,
19:30 yes, Arsenal at the moment have a really good set-up. They have players that
19:38 probably don't want to drop, especially in those key positions in defence.
19:41 So I don't think there's any pressure on Uri Antimba to come back into the team straight away.
19:46 I don't think there is that expectation from the fans, from the coaching staff. But,
19:51 look, he's a great option to have. He was obviously a regular starter,
19:55 expected to be a regular starter because he started that first game of the season against
20:00 Nottingham Forest. And yes, I think it's a good sign that he's back. And yes, he will be hoping
20:06 to work his way back into the team. But like I say, there's no pressure at the moment.
20:10 The fact is, he can play across the defence and that's a really valuable
20:15 addition for Michel Arteta to have back in his squad.
20:19 And another man returning from injury, obviously we've already mentioned him,
20:24 Thomas Partey. We've got a question here from Mohamed who's asking how crucial
20:28 Partey could prove to be in the upcoming Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
20:33 Obviously, something we haven't even mentioned, a huge penalty shootout win for Arsenal to book
20:38 their place in the last day of Europe's top competition. But do you see Partey playing a
20:42 big role in that two-legged tie? Yeah, I really do. I think when you look at that full-strength
20:49 Arsenal line-up, of course coming up against Bayern Munich as well, that's going to be a huge
20:55 game. But I think the midfield of Declan Rice, Martin Oerdegaard and Thomas Partey is arguably
21:02 one of the best midfields in the Premier League and I think it's a very difficult
21:06 midfield to come up against. So I think Partey is going to play a crucial role.
21:10 I think if he does sit in that holding midfield role where he's known to be at his best,
21:18 I think it gives Declan Rice a bit more licence to run forward and play those kind of probing passes
21:23 which he's become accustomed to, or we've become accustomed to in the Premier League.
21:29 Martin Oerdegaard as well, his creativity has been out of this world this season. I think him
21:34 and Declan Rice linking up with the attacking forwards like Martinelli and Saka and Havertz
21:40 as well, of course, is really dangerous for any team who are going to come up against the
21:45 Gunners this season. So yeah, it's really good news to have him back and I think Thomas Partey,
21:50 his future maybe was in a bit of a question, had a question mark over it because he has been
21:58 pretty injury prone since he's come to the club. If he can finish this season
22:01 really strongly then perhaps his future might not have that question mark hanging over it
22:08 come the summer. But yeah, it's great news to have him back in the team, of course.
22:12 Just out of interest, how do you rate Arsenal's chances in that match? Because obviously
22:18 Bayern Munich is arguably one of the toughest draws in Europe. Do you see them progressing
22:24 to the final four of the Champions League? I think Arsenal, yeah, I think in the Premier
22:29 League and the Champions League this is probably Arsenal's best chance because the team they have,
22:34 the togetherness they have, the mentality of the players, of the squad is really synchronised.
22:40 And I think, yeah, Bayern of course are strong but even in their domestic league they've been
22:47 almost stunned this season, haven't they? And I think, bye bye Leverkusen. I think
22:52 what we've seen with Arsenal this season is that they've arguably dominated because,
22:57 at least in the past few games, they've just blown teams away where teams really haven't
23:04 had chances to score and they've scored tonnes of goals. I think the Champions League is different,
23:09 of course. It's a knockout competition, they're coming up against Europe's elite.
23:13 But when you compare it to the Arsenal side of maybe seven, eight years ago where they were
23:19 losing 10-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich, I don't think it's going to happen this time.
23:25 I think Arsenal have a much better chance of getting a result and for that reason as well,
23:31 I think in the Premier League they look really strong and have a good chance of winning it.
23:36 So, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see exactly how well they do. It's going to be a
23:41 tight game, I'm sure, but I wouldn't expect another 10-2 aggregate scoreline.
23:47 So, yeah, I think it's going to be interesting to see exactly how well they do.