Arteta sheds light on Arsenal's reaction to White's early return from World Cup

Mikel Arteta says he is pleased to have Ben White "in good shape" for the return of the Premier League after the defender's early departure from the England World Cup squad.

Former Brighton star White left the England camp for personal reasons on November 30, a day after he wasn't included in the squad for the group stage victory over Wales.

After a short break he linked up with his Arsenal teammates during their winter break to Dubai, and on Tuesday he played his first minutes since the Gunners' 2-0 win at Wolves on November 12.

There were conflicting reports surrounding the nature of White's departure from the squad, but Arteta is happy to have him back in the fold.

"Very pleased," said Arteta after Tuesday's 2-1 win over AC Milan in Dubai.

"Everybody has been giving him a lot of support and love. We know the reasons he had to leave and it's good to have him in good shape."

On reports about his decision to leave the squad, he added: "We can't control that.

"I know who Ben is, what he needs, what his character is and how happy we all are to have him at the club."

White posted an Instagram image of him training in Dubai on Monday, with the simple message "We back baby".

He started the match against AC Milan at right-back, where he has played for the majority of the season, and completed the first 45 minutes before being replaced by Cedric Soares at half-time.

The Gunners went in 2-0 up at the break thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Reiss Nelson, with the former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori pulling one back for the reigning Italian champions.

A penalty shootout was then held after the match as per tournament rules, with the Gunners also winning that.

Arteta's side will now return to London where they will face Juventus in a friendly match at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, before returning to Premier League action with a game at home to West Ham on Boxing Day.

The Gunners are set to be without forward Gabriel Jesus after the Brazil suffered a knee injury while playing for his country at the World Cup.

The former Manchester City man has undergone surgery on the problem, and Arteta was asked if he is likely to dip into the transfer market in January to help with the club's challenge for a first league title in 19 years.

"We are looking and we are very active looking at the possibilities," he said.

"If we can find the players that can strengthen the team we will try."

Youngsters Lino Sousa and Amario Cozier-Duberry made late appearances off the bench for the Gunners, and Arteta was delighted with them.

"If we want to develop players you have to expose them in different contexts," he said.

"I thought today was perfect to understand how they can compete even though they're really young."