Ben White (Getty Images)
According to Sky Sports (h/t Leeds Live), Arsenal want to go back in with a second transfer offer for Ben White. This comes after the Gunners’ first bid, believed to be around £40million, was rejected by Brighton and Hove Albion. White has made a good impression in the Premier League since returning from Leeds United.
And it seems like he has caught the attention of Arsenal. The report mentions that the player would also be interested in a move. But with the price tag a little high, some fans would wonder if this is the right call by the Gunners. We find out why it is, and how signing White could help Arsenal next season.
The Gunners signed Gabriel Magalhaes and Pablo Mari last year. However, their problem with depth at the back is starting to show in a really stark manner. David Luiz is set to depart the club as a free agent.
So with one experienced defender out of the squad, Arsenal would need someone to fill in for the 34-year-old Brazilian. On top of that, Mari has not had a smooth start to life in London. The Spaniard had recurrent fitness issues which saw him miss a ton of games for Arsenal this season.
Even when he was fit, he was rotated a lot. Rob Holding and Gabriel are undoubtedly the two defenders that Mikel Arteta trusts. But they need someone to compete with them for starts. Having a pool of quality centre-backs to choose from next season would undoubtedly help Arteta.
Can Callum Chambers do that? Perhaps. But the 26-year-old, like Mari, was having injury issues this season. However, he is out of contract next year and can discuss terms as a free agent with foreign clubs from January 2022 if he does not sign a new deal. And that only adds to Arteta’s problems.
With Arteta having a list of defenders who failed to keep fit last year and two defenders going out of contract soon, he really needs to look into the market for additions. And that is where Ben White would come in. The 24-year-old impressed with Brighton in the Premier League this season.
While it was his first full season in the top-flight, he showed enough to prove his quality. Brighton, of course, value him highly at around £50million but that is what quality can cost in the market nowadays. Just consider the fact that Arsenal themselves dished out £35million for Shkodran Mustafi some years back.
The Gunners have William Saliba coming back from loan, with Football.london stating that he would be given a chance to impress in the pre-season. But the Frenchman, who himself cost £27million in 2019, has found it hard to break into the starting XI and his loan move to Nice proved that Arteta did not have him in his immediate plans.
This is why the Gunners need someone who can slot into their backline on a weekly basis to give them consistency. Moreover, Arteta has a knack for playing with three centre-backs at times, which obviously requires the team to have more depth than usual.
