Ben White says he and Gabriel Magalhaes have ‘just clicked’ at the heart of Arsenal’s defence despite having to overcome a language barrier.
The 23-year-old arrived at Arsenal with big expectations on his shoulders this summer following a £50million move from Brighton.
And after a difficult debut away to Brentford, White has come into his own with the Gunners conceding just one goal across a four-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League.
White’s accomplished performance in Arsenal’s north London derby victory over Tottenham silenced many of his doubters and there was some surprise when he missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad.
The centre-back will no doubt be desperate to send Southgate a reminder of his quality after the international break and it’s clear he’s enjoying his playing alongside Gabriel in Mikel Arteta’s new-look defence.
‘He doesn’t speak much English. I don’t speak Portuguese,’ White explained during a Twitch live stream.
‘There’s not much we can say to each other.
‘But we know what we have to do. We just click.’
Speaking to Sky Sports last week, Gabriel said he was confident the pair had ‘the makings of a very good partnership’.
Thanks to God we have managed to win three games together and keep two clean sheets,’ the Brazilian centre-back told Sky Sports.
‘It’s only the beginning but I think we have the makings of a very good partnership, in terms of our attributes.
‘The manager wants his central defenders to defend well, first and foremost. He wants us to know the moments to attack and the moments to defend.
‘That’s what we are trying to do, and we know now when to drop deep and when to push up.’
The Brazilian added: ‘Having good timing on the pitch is essential and he talks to us about that a lot.
‘He also tells us how every game is different here because we’re up against players with different attributes.
‘Ben and I have each had a full season in the Premier League now and we’re getting to know it much better. We still need to connect even more but we are improving and developing with every game and that bodes well for the rest of the season.
‘We want to be a very intense and aggressive defence.’
Arsenal have two home matches against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa to look forward to when the Premier League season resumes after the international break.
Arteta’s men outfit have risen to 11th in the table thanks to their mini resurgence and could go as high as seventh with victory over Palace at the Emirates.
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