Arsenal have been eager to try and tie up a deal that would bring Ben White to the Emirates Stadium for the 2021/22 campaign and, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic, a transfer for the player is one step closer to completion.
Arsenal Set to Seal £50 Million Deal for Brighton Defender Ben White
Gunners Eager for Defensive Reinforcements
The Gunners are determined to bring in some defensive reinforcements this window and see the 23-year old as the ideal man to come in and shore them up at the back. They’ve been chasing a fresh centre-back for a while now and are willing to do what it takes to bring White to the club.
The Englishman will command a hefty fee of around £50 million but the Gunners would rather pay £45 million up front now and then £5 million in additional add-ons. Whether that will be enough to tempt Brighton & Hove Albion into letting one of their prized assets leave is another question.
White, though, has certainly proven he can cut it at the highest level and his addition to the Arsenal backline would be a huge boost. Not only is he extremely adept defensively, but his effort in taking the ball out from the back and starting attacks from defence is exactly what Mikel Arteta would want from the player.
Ben White Has Impressed Arsenal With His Premier League Showings
White is up there as one of the best attacking centre-backs in the top five leagues in Europe. Last season, he averaged 0.68 dribbles per 90, which put him amongst the best 7% of defenders in European leagues at doing so. This shows his talent at winning the ball back for his team and then having no fear in progressing the ball forwards and starting up attacks for his team on his own (this is also backed by his xA rating of 0.02 which, although low, puts him in the top 32% for centre-backs in the top five leagues).
Quick to close down too and apply pressure on opposition attackers, he is almost the complete package and would slot in nicely to the Gunners side and how boss Mikel Arteta wants them to play.
His rise to the top of his game has also been admirable. Starting off at Brighton as a young 18-year old, he was unable to break into their side as they toiled in the Championship. Instead, he went out on loan to Newport County in League Two where he featured heavily and impressed.
Ben White Thrived at Leeds United – And Could Now Play for Arsenal in the Top Flight
Once he’d conquered the fourth tier, he returned to the Seagulls and after finding game time hard to come by again, he was shipped out on loan to Peterborough United. Although he didn’t feature as prominently, he still showed flashes of his defensive excellence and then secured a loan move a season later to Championship high-flyers Leeds United. Under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa, he thrived and helped the club secure the second-tier title.
Finally earning a shot in the Premier League, parent-club Brighton began to play him more frequently and he has made the step up with ease becoming one of their most important players. He is a valuable asset to their side and his showings have caught the eye of bigger teams like Arsenal.
He can definitely cut it in the top flight and it appears that another move up a level could be on the horizon for the 24-year old.
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