However, the former Brighton defender admits he has little interest in following the sport for fun, instead treating it purely as a profession. Speaking in the Arsenal matchday programme, White said: “I’d probably be working with my dad if I wasn’t a footballer. He used to be a gardener. I think that’s why there was never any pressure on me growing up, because I would have been very happy with that.
“I went into football but it would have been no problem for me to do what my dad did. I never used to watch football much anyway. If it was on when I was a kid, after five minutes I’d get bored of it and go outside to play football. I didn’t really watch it, I’d much rather do it. Even now, I don’t watch football really.
“I watch my own clips and my own footage to help me improve but I wouldn’t watch a game for fun.”
White sealed a £50million move to Arsenal in 2021, a fee which raised eyebrows at the time given his lack of top-flight experience. But he has emerged as an invaluable member of the Gunners’ title-chasing side, while also earning four caps for England.
Speaking about his approach to football, White added: “I’m obsessed with being the best I can be and being successful and that would have been in anything I did. I always want to do the most I can to be a success. So, if I had gone into gardening, it would have been the same. My profession just happens to also be a lot of people’s hobby. They look forward to every Saturday to watch the game and that’s great.
“But for me it’s about being on the pitches every day, trying to constantly be the best you can be. That’s the bit I really love. When I come into the training ground, it’s all about football – 100% focus. Then when I leave, I switch off from it. I don’t think my dad has ever said to me: ‘Shall we watch a game on TV?’ He absolutely isn’t interested in that, I don’t think he’s ever watched one on TV.”
It’s refreshing to hear a professional footballer speak so openly about his lack of interest in the sport outside of his own career. While many of us may have dreamed of being a professional footballer, for Ben White it was always about achieving his personal best and being successful, no matter what profession that may have been in. It’s this attitude which has helped him reach the top of the sport and become a key member of Arsenal’s title-chasing side.
