‘Wow, were they beaten 8-0?’: Lee Dixon mocks Arsenal defender Ben White for ‘exaggerated’ post-match interview following the Gunners’ 1-1 draw at Southampton, with the England international after that anguished leaders figure made lost points
Lee Dixon criticized Arsenal defender Ben White for his reaction to the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Southampton on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side dropped points for the second time this season and saw their lead at the top of the Premier League halved to two points with the result White described as “difficult” after regulation time.
Via The Mirror, Dixon described the defender’s reaction as “exaggerated” and stated that he should “take him by the chin and move on”.
Lee Dixon has criticized defender Ben White’s reaction to Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Southampton
White called the result “difficult” and his teammates “just human” as they lost points
Dixon said the 25-year-old was “overreacting” and that he should “take it seriously and move on”.
“I think the first half was really good,” White told ViaPlay after the game.
“We created a lot of chances and we should have scored more goals. We probably should have finished the game in the first half and we didn’t.
‘(We were) sloppy in possession, we didn’t win any tackles, just the opposite in the first half and that’s why the game went the way it did. We’re only human, that’s complicated.”
Dixon was stunned by White’s negativity and wondered why he seemed so dejected after the result.
Mikel Arteta’s team is already two points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League
Stuart Armstrong’s first goal of the season frustrated Granit Xhaka’s first goal at St Mary’s
“Wow, did they win 8-0?” she asked. “Yeah, that was a bit of an exaggeration.
“He feels what he feels, but I still think this season, when you play like that in the second half, you have to take him by the chin and say, ‘Yeah, we didn’t play very well, go to the next one.’ But he was very depressed, wasn’t he?
“I think (Arsenal’s poor finish) would have been Mikel’s concern at half time because you always remember the game that just ended. They had a match in midweek, but the last Premier League game he will remember is how they were in control against Leeds and then how they blew away in the second half.
“It was very similar, this time Southampton scored. But tomorrow, when I’ve softened his point of view, he’ll say it’s a decent point because they could have lost that game in the end.
White didn’t bother to assist Xhaka’s goal in the first half, saying “it’s about the team”.
White set up Arsenal’s goal, scored by Granit Xhaka, but that was no consolation for the 25-year-old.
He said: “Obviously it’s great to be a part of this, but it’s about the team and unfortunately we didn’t win today.
The Gunners look to win again in Thursday’s Europa League against PSV ahead of their league meeting with Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
