Reporter:
Staff Reporter
08 Oct 2022 11:30 PM
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has backed Ben White to force himself into England’s World Cup squad.
The defender was a surprise omission from Gareth Southgate’s 28-man group for the Nations League games with Italy and Germany last month after a strong start to the new campaign.
It was a blow to the 24-year-old’s hopes of being selected for the winter tournament in Qatar but his cause was inadvertently helped this week when Kyle Walker sustained a groin injury which required surgery.
🤩 Highlights are here!
🔦 From a great night under the lights
🍿 Watch it all again Gooners 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 6, 2022
Walker’s versatility has been referenced as crucial by Southgate, who has used the Manchester City player both as a right-sided centre-back and full-back.
White has been a regular for Arsenal at right-back this season and his club manager feels his adaptability could aid his hopes of forcing his way into the Three Lions set-up again.
Arteta said: “Ben would be very comfortable playing on the right side of a back three as well as in the middle or as a full-back.
“If you ask me if he is ready to make that step (to England), then the answer is yes because he is a very confident boy, he gives you absolutely everything, he is always available and he has the courage to play under real pressure.”
While White’s selection at right-back this term has come as a surprise to many, Arteta revealed he always saw the defender as a potential full-back option when he signed from Brighton in 2021.
He has made the position his own, despite Takehiro Tomiyasu recently returning to full fitness, but the Arsenal boss has insisted a return to the middle of a back four is not out of the question during the coming weeks.
“We are really happy with where he is and obviously with the way William (Saliba) has been playing it makes sense for Ben to play there but that doesn’t mean he cannot play as a central defender,” Arteta added.
“We all believed he had thequalities to do that (right-back) role and the most important step, probably, was for him to believe that he could do it, to feel comfortable in that position and that this positioncould maximise his potential as well to give him anotherdimension as a player.
“The fact that now he can play in various positions, I think makes him a more complete player and I thinkhe’s very happy withthat.”
White will not be directly up against Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold this weekend, but plenty of eyes will be on who fares best in that battle, especially if Southgate is present.
Alexander-Arnold failed to make an appearance for England last month but responded to his critics with a goal in the midweek win over Rangers.
Arteta was in no doubt about the qualities of the Reds’ academy graduate.
“I think it’s a very special talent,” he said of Alexander-Arnold. “He’s an attacking midfielder, a winger, a midfielder playing as a full-back.
“The way he can threaten the opponent, especially with his range of passing, his capability to play withthe ball – he likes to play inside, to play outside, to play in differentzones on the pitch and be so comfortable.
“And then what he adds offensively to the team every year is difficult to find in that position.”
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'); $(".sommario_articolo").detach().appendTo($(".summary_container").first()); } // // Move Outbrain if before Next button // if($(".banner_content_ad_in_article_desktop").offset().top < $(".vc_story_telling_link").offset().top ) { // // Move Outbrain to after Next button. // $(".banner_content_ad_in_article_desktop").detach().appendTo($(".vc_story_telling_link").parent()); // } // Move Next button to be under first slideshow image. $(".vc_story_telling_link").detach().appendTo($(".vc_story_telling img:nth-of-type(1)").first().parent()); // Make slideshow image click to next page. $(".vc_story_telling img:nth-of-type(1)").on('click', function(){ $(".vc_story_telling_link").click() } ); function moveAdOutOfDiv(adSelector, adName, divSelector, divName){ // Move adSelector that have been placed in the divSelector (e.g. related articles, twitter feeds), if($(divSelector + " " + adSelector).length>0){ console.log("Moving Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") ad out of div " + divSelector + " (" + divName + ")."); var divSelectorElement = $(divSelector + " " + adSelector).parents(divSelector); $(divSelector + " " + adSelector).detach().appendTo(divSelectorElement.next("p")); } } function moveAdOutOfDivs(adSelector, adName){ moveAdOutOfDiv(adSelector, adName, ".vc_shortcode_article_preview", "Recommended Article Preview"); moveAdOutOfDiv(adSelector, adName, ".twitter", "Twitter Feed"); moveAdOutOfDiv(adSelector, adName, ".author_email", "By Line"); }function moveAd(adSelector, adName, targetContentParagraph){ var pCount=0; var pIndex=0; var contentParagraphs = 0; var targetPindex = 0; var contentMinHeight = 10; var contentMinLength = 1; if($(".testo_articolo").children("p").length > 0){ pIndex=0; while($(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(pIndex).length){ if($(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(pIndex).height()>=contentMinHeight){ if($(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(pIndex).text().length>contentMinLength){if($(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(pIndex).children("img").length) {// Do nothing} else { console.log("moveAd: p " + pIndex + " height=" + $(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(pIndex).height()+ " width=" + $(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(pIndex).text().length++);contentParagraphs++;if(contentParagraphs==targetContentParagraph){ targetPindex=pIndex;}} } } pIndex++; } pCount = pIndex; } console.log("moveAd: Total Paragraphs: " + pCount + ". Paragraphs With Content: " + contentParagraphs + ". targetPindex: " + targetPindex + ". targetContentParagraph:" + targetContentParagraph + "."); if($(adSelector).length){ if(contentParagraphs>targetContentParagraph){ console.log("moveAd: Moving Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") to paragraph " + targetContentParagraph + " of " + contentParagraphs + " (targetPindex=" + targetPindex +", pCount=" + pCount + ")."); $(adSelector).detach().appendTo($(".testo_articolo").children("p").eq(targetPindex)); } else { console.log("moveAd: Cannot move Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") to paragraph " + targetContentParagraph + " of " + contentParagraphs + " (targetPindex=" + targetPindex +", pCount=" + pCount + ") => Removing Ad."); $(adSelector).remove(); } } else { console.log("moveAd: Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") does not exist."); } moveAdOutOfDivs(adSelector, adName); } function moveAd_bk(adSelector, adName, targetContentParagraph){ var pCount=0; var pIndex=0; var contentParagraphs = 0; var targetPindex = 0; var contentMinHeight = 10; var contentMinLength = 1; if($(".testo_articolo p").length){ pIndex=0; while($(".testo_articolo p").eq(pIndex).length){ if($(".testo_articolo p").eq(pIndex).height()>=contentMinHeight){ if($(".testo_articolo p").eq(pIndex).text().length>contentMinLength){ console.log("moveAd: p " + pIndex + " height=" + $(".testo_articolo p").eq(pIndex).height()+ " width=" + $(".testo_articolo p").eq(pIndex).text().length); contentParagraphs++; if(contentParagraphs==targetContentParagraph){ targetPindex=pIndex; } } } pIndex++; } pCount = pIndex; } console.log("moveAd: Total Paragraphs: " + pCount + ". Paragraphs With Content: " + contentParagraphs + ". targetPindex: " + targetPindex + ". targetContentParagraph:" + targetContentParagraph + "."); if($(adSelector).length){ if(contentParagraphs>targetContentParagraph){ console.log("moveAd: Moving Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") to paragraph " + targetContentParagraph + " of " + contentParagraphs + " (targetPindex=" + targetPindex +", pCount=" + pCount + ")."); $(adSelector).detach().appendTo($(".testo_articolo p").eq(targetPindex)); } else { console.log("moveAd: Cannot move Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") to paragraph " + targetContentParagraph + " of " + contentParagraphs + " (targetPindex=" + targetPindex +", pCount=" + pCount + ") => Removing Ad."); $(adSelector).remove(); } } else { console.log("moveAd: Ad " + adSelector + " (" + adName + ") does not exist."); } moveAdOutOfDivs(adSelector, adName); } function styleRelatedArticle(){ if($(".vc_shortcode_article_preview a")){ var link = $(".vc_shortcode_article_preview a").attr("href"); $(".vc_shortcode_article_preview").attr("href", link); $(".vc_shortcode_article_preview").append('
TAP TO READ MORE
'); var logoUrl = $(".logo a img").attr("src"); $(".vc_shortcode_article_preview .vc_cont .vc_title").prepend('
'); // Increase resolution of image if($(".vc_shortcode_article_preview img.vc_image").length){ var imageUrl = $(".vc_shortcode_article_preview img.vc_image").attr("src"); imageUrl = imageUrl.replace(/resizer\/150\/-1\//g, 'resizer\/300\/-1\/'); //$(".vc_shortcode_article_preview img.vc_image").attr("src", imageUrl); } } } function moveAds(){ console.log("moveAds: Replace all br tags to p."); $(".testo_articolo").html("
" + $(".testo_articolo").html().replace(/
/g, '
') + "
"); // ** NOTE: Mobile uses "content_ad_in_article_mobile"; Desktop uses "content_ad_in_article_desktop". ** moveAd("#mpu_1_in_article","mpu_1_in_article",1); moveAd("#content_ad_in_article_desktop", "Outbrain In Article", 4); moveAd(".teads_ad", "Teads", 7); moveAd("#mpu_2_in_article","mpu_2_in_article",10); moveAd("#mpu_3_in_article","mpu_3_in_article",13); moveAd(".teads_ad2", "Teads", 16); moveAd("#mpu_4_in_article","mpu_4_in_article",19); moveAd("#mpu_5_in_article","mpu_5_in_article",22); moveAd("#mpu_6_in_article","mpu_6_in_article",25); moveAd("#mpu_7_in_article","mpu_7_in_article",28); moveAd("#mpu_8_in_article","mpu_8_in_article",31); if(localStorage.getItem("debug")=="1"){ $(".banner_banner_unruly_2x1_1").css("border", "dashed 2px #55ffff"); $(".banner_banner_unruly_2x1_1").prepend('
Teads Ad
'); $("head").append('
'); } } function fixDesktopAudio(){ // 2022-05-27: ACHAM: Fix Flash issue. const mp3File = $(".vc_flowplayer").attr("href"); if(mp3File){ if(mp3File.slice(-4)===".mp3"){ console.log("Fixing Desktop Audio (vc_flowplayer using Flash so change it to audio)"); $("a.vc_flowplayer").html(''); } } } $(function(){ // Move ads to end of article for polling, story telling, quiz and sponsored articles. // 2022-05-22: ACHAM: If sponsored article, also remove Teads and Seedtag ads. var docKeywords = ""; if(document.querySelector("meta[name='Keywords']")){ docKeywords = document.querySelector("meta[name='Keywords']").getAttribute("content").toLowerCase(); } console.log("Article keywords:" + docKeywords); if(docKeywords.includes("sponsor")) { console.log("Article keywords contain sponsor => Moving Outbrain to end of article."); $("#mpu_1_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); $("#content_ad_in_article_desktop").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); $("#mpu_2_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_3_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_4_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_5_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_6_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_7_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_8_in_article").remove(); $(".teads_ad").remove(); $(".teads_ad2").remove(); //$("#mpu_2_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_3_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_4_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_5_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_6_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_7_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_8_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); console.log("Article keywords contain sponsor => Remove Teads ads. (banner_banner_unruly_2x1_1)"); $(".banner_banner_unruly_2x1_1").remove(); $(".banner_banner_unruly_2x1_2").remove(); console.log("Article keywords contain sponsor => Remove Teads ads. (teads-inread)"); $(".teads-inread").remove(); setTimeout(function(){ console.log("Article keywords contain sponsor => Remove Teads ads after 5 seconds. (teads-inread)"); $(".teads-inread").remove(); }, 5000); console.log("Article keywords contain sponsor => Remove seedtag ads."); $("#div-gpt-ad-in-image").remove(); } else if($(".vc_story_telling").length) { console.log("Moving Outbrain to end of article."); $("#story_contact_container").before(''); $("#mpu_1_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); $("#content_ad_in_article_desktop").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); $("#mpu_2_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_3_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_4_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_5_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_6_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_7_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_8_in_article").remove(); $(".teads_ad").remove(); $(".teads_ad2").remove(); //$("#mpu_2_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); //$("#mpu_3_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); //$("#mpu_4_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); //$("#mpu_5_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); //$("#mpu_6_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); //$("#mpu_7_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); //$("#mpu_8_in_article").detach().insertBefore($(".vc_story_telling_link")); } else if(($(".container_response").length) ||($('.titolo_articolo:contains("quiz:")').length) ||($('.titolo_articolo:contains("live blog:")').length) ||($('.titolo_articolo:contains("poll")').length) ){ $("#mpu_1_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); $("#content_ad_in_article_desktop").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); $("#mpu_2_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_3_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_4_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_5_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_6_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_7_in_article").remove(); $("#mpu_8_in_article").remove(); $(".teads_ad").remove(); $(".teads_ad2").remove(); //$("#mpu_2_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_3_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_4_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_5_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_6_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_7_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); //$("#mpu_8_in_article").detach().insertBefore($("#article_end")); } else { moveAds(); styleRelatedArticle(); //fixDesktopAudio(); } if($(".container_response .photo img").length) { console.log("Resize images"); $(".container_response .photo img").each(function(){ var oldSrc = this.src; var newSrc = oldSrc.replace("resizer/120/", "resizer/300/"); console.log("newSrc = " + newSrc); this.src = newSrc; $(this).attr("width", "300"); }); } });
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'); $(".vc_article_body_new").append($('#paywall_message')); $('#paywall_message').css("display", "block"); $(".testo_articolo").css("overflow", "hidden"); $(".testo_articolo").height(550); $(".vc_article_body_new").css("overflow", "hidden"); $(".vc_article_body_new").height(550); $(function(){ console.log("Moving ads to paywall message."); // Desktop $("#content_ad_in_article_placeholder").detach().appendTo($("#article_end")); // Mobile $("#content_ad_in_article_mobile").detach().appendTo($("#article_end")); $("#mpu_2_container").detach().appendTo($("#article_end")); $("#mpu_2_container").css("margin-top","30px"); }); console.log("Remove unruly/teads ad."); $('.banner_banner_unruly_2x1_1').remove(); } else { if(isArticleBlocked){ console.log("Article is blocked."); $(".vc_article_body_new").append('
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