Ben White was ruled out for Arsenal’s derby Premier League clash against Chelsea on Sunday, after a reported absence from training.

London, England, 8th August 2021. Ben White R and Sambi Lokonga of Arsenal during the Pre Season Friendly match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture credit should read: Paul Terry / Sportimage
London, England, 8th August 2021. Ben White R and Sambi Lokonga of Arsenal during the Pre Season Friendly match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture credit should read: Paul Terry / Sportimage

Gooner Talk reported on Sunday morning that Ben White arrived at Arsenal’s training centre at the same time as the rest of the squad for their last session, but left London Colney just 20 minutes later. He was then absent from Saturday’s training session photos.

The report added that a source informed them White was also not on the team coach travelling to their overnight hotel on Saturday afternoon.

White’s absence was then confirmed by David Ornstein before the team news was released at 3.30pm:

https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1429416847540162567?s=19

Ornstein also confirmed that White was out with Covid-19, although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has recovered from his bout to take a place on the bench.

This news comes after five players had already been ruled out of the game with injury or illness (Gabriel, Nketiah, Partey, Lacazette, and Rúnarsson) and another was a doubt after contracting from Covid-19 (Willian).