Arsenal's coaching staff believe centre-back Ben White can develop into one of the best defenders in international football because of his aggression, combined with an exceptional ability to read the game.

The assessment will give the former Brighton defender heart after William Saliba finally joined the Gunners' ranks and was selected ahead of White in central defence for the season opener, the 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Friday.

The 24-year-old Englishman was pushed into the right-back berth at Selhurst Park but has consistently proved doubters wrong in his short career and will believe he can reassert his authority in the Arsenal backline.

Ben White at first struggled to win over Arsenal fans after his £50m move to the Emirates

When White arrived at the Emirates for £50million in July 2021, the price raised some eyebrows. He even told his new team-mates that a group of children had accosted him over his transfer fee.

'I've got some little kids absolutely giving me stacks, they were mugging me right off,' he said. 'They were like ''£50million? You're s***.''

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his coaching team had a different view. The boss said the club planned to build a bright future around the defender, who had all the attributes they were looking for.

Overall, White stepped up and has made a good start to his Arsenal career, playing 37 games for the Gunners last season, mostly alongside Brazilian Gabriel, 24, within a back four, and winning four England caps along the way.

And the coaches at the London Colney training facility think he is only just starting to realise his true potential.

'You have all the potential to be a world-class player,' development coach Carlos Cuesta told White in a one-to-one analysis, captured by the Amazon Prime Video cameras in the next instalment of the All or Nothing Arsenal docuseries, which streams on Thursday.

'Your level of activity is top, your ability to learn is your biggest strength,' said Cuesta. 'When I see you defending, I think: 'Wow, how aggressive he is, how quickly he reacts and how he is able to anticipate'.

'How many players in the world can anticipate like you. I will tell you, not many. I would say, nobody. You are special on your level of activity.'

Arsenal are working with White on technical points, like his body shape and angles at which he receives the ball, in order to better protect it. Regardless, he has been operating at a high level, and Arteta must be excited to see a developing strength in depth in defence.

White's success has come as a surprise to some, including perhaps within his own family, since football was not a feature of the household when Ben was growing up in Poole, Dorset.

'It's weird because my family don't like football,' White revealed to Amazon Prime Video. 'They've never played it. Dad hates it. He would never, ever watch a game.

'It was actually someone who my mum used to cut hair for [who got me playing]. She would come out in the garden with me and she would get in goal and I would boot the ball at her. That's where it all started, really.

'I don't think I was ever talented, like 'special'. I've just worked so much harder than everyone else.'

White was at the Southampton academy until the age of 16 and then landed at Brighton and Hove Albion, where he made his professional debut aged 18.

The hard work included a loan spell at Newport County in League Two, where the young White was given a rude awakening to men's football after years in the rarefied atmosphere of an elite academy: The pre-match meal was curry and on his debut there was a punch up in the dressing room at half-time between players on his own team.

Even so, he has spoken warmly of the experience and support he received at Rodney Parade, which set him up for future success. He then went out to Peterborough United, before a year at Leeds, where he won the Championship in an outstanding season.

Back at Brighton in the 2020-21 season, White established himself, clocking up 36 top-flight appearances for Graham Potter's side, which secured his move to north London.

'Being at a big club like this, you can't slip, you can't have bad days,' White reflected on life at the Emirates. 'It is tough mentally. I have high standards. I don't need anyone to tell me when I have not done so well, I know.

'I used to be very up and down emotionally, but as I have grown up, I think I am at a level where I can be OK with whatever happens.'

Initially, White struggled to win over the Arsenal support, but they warmed to him after a superb tackle on Tottenham's Son Heung-min in the first minutes of the north London derby last September, which set the tone for an exceptional team performance and led to the Gunners winning 3-1.

He has also been at the heart of some impressive rearguard actions, including a 0-0 draw at Anfield in the EFL Cup semi-final in January, after team-mate Granit Xhaka had been sent off in the 24th minute of a feisty encounter.

Arteta likes White for what he brings on and off the pitch. He wants his players to be fully committed in training as well as on matchdays. 'I knew Ben for a few years from the moment he was at Leeds. He is the type of player that caught my eye: Brave and really talented and a fighter,' Arteta says in the documentary. 'That is how I would describe Ben.

'He trains like he is playing the Champions League final almost every day. That is why he has come such a long way in such a short time in his career.'

However, the Englishman will need to up his level again to retain a starting spot at the heart of the Arsenal defence in the coming season as Arsenal have finally welcomed Saliba into the fold.

The Frenchman, 21, was signed by Arsenal in 2019, but has been on loan in France, most recently at Marseille, where he won his first cap.

The Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year is tipped to have a leading role in Arsenal's defence this season, with some pundits, such as former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, even insisting White does not have what it takes to play ahead of Saliba.

And Saliba won plenty of plaudits following his man-of-the-match display at Palace.

But it is far too soon to write the resilient White off. He may not have Saliba's pace but he is excellent one-versus-one, very adept at reading the play to intercept passes or cover, good at defending when a striker has his back to goal and good with the ball at his feet.

It won't bother White if he is not picked out by commentators as the one to watch. After all, by his own assessment, he has never been 'special', and besides, the only people whose opinions actually count are Arteta and his coaching staff, and they like what they see.