White had an Arsenal debut to forget on Friday night when he struggled against Brentford in a 2-0 defeat for the Gunners at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Arsenal looked poor on the opening day of the Premier League and the England defender struggled to live up to expectations after the Gunners signed him for £50m.
Bent has sympathy for the defender as he believes White would look infinitely better and justify his price tag if he was playing in a side such as Manchester City or Chelsea.
He stressed Mikel Arteta’s team selection and tactics did not suit his strengths and believes the defender just got harried and bullied by Brentford on his Premier League debut for the Gunners.
Bent said on talkSPORT: “I felt sorry for Ben White.
“If you take Ben White out of Arsenal’s team and you put him in Manchester City or Chelsea, I bet he looks like the £50m player in terms of them dominating possession as he is a great footballer.
“For Brighton, he played really well in a back three and that’s where he was at his best and that’s why we bought him.
“When you are going to put him in a back four, everything about the team selection, the shape, the tactics – just didn’t fit.
“And in the end he and Pablo Mari just got beat up, as simple as that.”
White will look to put on a much improved show when Arsenal host London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates next weekend.
