Ben White has insisted he does not ‘hate’ football despite regularly being criticised for not watching the sport in his downtime.
The Arsenal star has spoken candidly with Ben Foster about his relationship with the beautiful game and whether he wants any involvement with it when he retires.
White, 27, revealed in 2021 that he has never regularly watched the game, despite loving playing it, and has often been pilloried for that.
Now he insists that disconnecting from the high-octane sport is an advantage and addressed whether he is less informed about his opponents.
Does he hate football? ‘No, of course not. It was a massive thing, there were a few things that I said. Obviously I don’t watch it,’ he told Foster in an Amazon Prime Video interview.
Ben White has insisted he does not ‘hate’ football, but he still doesn’t watch it in his free time
The Arsenal star says that switching off helps him to be ‘fully focused’ when it is time to play
‘For me, it’s not a big deal. That’s why I said it at the time. Training, the amount of videos you have to do every day, it’s so extreme, so when I come home I just want to forget about it.
‘(My dogs) They’re literally my life, so no football on, don’t talk about it when I come home, mum and dad don’t speak to me about it, it’s just like it’s not my job basically.
‘People think that I don’t love it, and obviously I don’t watch it, but I could probably tell you most things about every winger that I play against or the attributes that I’m going to have to come up against on the weekend.
‘Playing right-back, there’s so many good left-wingers, every game they’re the best player. if you look at every team, one or two, they’re the best.’
Disconnecting from the sport gives him a boost. ‘It helps me when I come home from football, I completely de-stress and don’t think about it. The next day I’m 100 per cent focused.’
There is no mention of England in the interview. White left England’s 2022 World Cup squad due to personal reasons and has since declined to play.
However, White did ironically describe one of his main qualities as a footballer as ‘availability’ – though that was due to his stellar fitness record as opposed to opening the door to a Three Lions return.
In his chat with Foster, accompanied by their dogs, Foster reveals that he has started a fashion brand with some friends – something he is ‘keeping small’. He hopes to produce ‘affordable’ clothing and ‘not make loads of money off it’.
White says he would like to be a dog walker when he retires. He has two dogs
Founded with Jason Davis, White’s brand is called Fraternite and he occasionally poses in their apparel on social media.
But it is neither football nor fashion that he wishes to pursue after his playing career.
‘After football, I don’t really know what I’m going to do yet. I was actually thinking about being a dog walker!
‘Get a little van, do something like that. I don’t need too much. I like simple (things).
‘I don’t want to be a pundit.’
