Ben White’s announcement as an Arsenal player is imminent
Having returned from holidays from Mykonos, Greece, Ben White will be expected to complete his medical and announce himself as an Arsenal player.
The player will go through his medical at the weekend, and will be expected to finally boast the famous Red and White jersey, according to the DailyMail.
The Gunners were determined to land the 23-year-old Brighton man after an impressive Premier League campaign. White was also an instrumental part of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United 2019/20 team, who won promotion impressively.
The iconic Argentine coach was so determined to sign White permanently, that The Whites lodged three bids, with the last offer reportedly amounting to £25m.
The coach and the club’s board must have been truly impressed with the young defender in his year-long loan at Elland Road that they were willing to fork out a considerable fee on a defender who was playing League One football just one year ago.
Ben White has arrived in London following his holiday.
[CJahraldo on Instagram] pic.twitter.com/R72RUJ6HdA
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) July 24, 2021
Fast forward and it is Arsenal not Leeds who have acquired the coveted defender for a whopping £50m, double the amount that The Whites were willing to pay last year.
The North London outfit have already offloaded William Saliba to French club Marseille on a season-long loan. Despite him being in the club’s long-term thinking, but White will be Arsenal’s future as well as present.
Great injury record, ball-playing ability, pacey, are just few qualities that are being floated around the fans as well as the media. But when you consider that he’s far from a peak age of a central defender, few fans would be able to resist their excitement.
The supporters have patiently waited for a month for the negotiations to conclude and they still play a waiting game due to his delayed holidays.
Imminently, the club will witness the dawn of a new day. The Arsenal fans will just hope that White brings a beam of sunshine to the Emirates Stadium, rather than clouds.
Good one for arsenal
This time I firmly agree with YASH and disagree with all Gooners who say we are paying too much for White, even though they, some of them, rate him.
I am thoroughly fed up of seeing not a single real TOP TOP quality CB at our club since Sol Campbell left) (I THOUGHT KOS A PRETTY GOOD PLAYER BUT SHORT OF REAL TOP CLASS, AS IN CAMPBELL STYLE).
To my long experienced mind, ALL great clubs need a great CB and no club can ever hope to make real top class without one , or hopefully two. In White, I much believe we have at long last found one and that is why I write as I do! I am convinced MA thinks so too and he will be proven correct very soon now!
Wonderful deal in my opinion, we need Max Aaron to complete the jigsaw but I guess, the gaffer is not thinking in my direction. I doubt if chambers will solve our right back problems.
Mayor Francis
I can’t see Arteta buying an RB
He likes chambers physicality and his crossing and tackling ability
In big games he will play 3-4-3
Whyte Holding Gabriel/Mari
Chambers/Cedric Tieney/Nuno
I saw that in the game yesterday
Cedric will continue to be the second RB with Bellerin gone
My feeling is that Sambi will
jump over Elneny to partner Partey
I think you could be right Havyn, my 50p would be on Elneny starting the season against Brentford but I reckon Sambi will take the slot after a few games and they will back each other up through the season
Also agree on Chambers & Cedric, it looks like Arteta is trying to put together a squad where he has equal competition for places in every position and with players who could also cover other positions if needed, bringing Tavares in to rival Tierney is another indication of that, I’m sure Kieran will start the season (barring injury!!!) but I don’t think Tavares has come to be an understudy
That’s quite understandable but, in a situation wherby a change of tactics is required to break down a stubborn team, that’s where the likes of Aaron steps in, the lad is a genius going forward, Chambers is not too fantastic going forward in my own opinion though.
I am waiting to see if the creativity that was lacking last season will be solved by Sambi Lokonga. We are almost 2 weeks to go and no signs that arsenal is going to act to solve our long struggles in the middle of the pitch. Why not play a 4-3-3 with a midfield of Partey – The Smith and Saka? In this way Saka can leave the right wing to Pepe to carry on where he ended last season. Then Martinelli on the left and Laca in the middle.
It is really impossible to imagine the team improving based on the transfers completed thus far.
Xhaka, who was Arsenal’s most consistent midfielder, and the team’s best passer from the midfield, is leaving, in theiry replaced by Lokonga, a 21 year old from a minor league. Hector Bellerin, who, despite statements to the contrary, is a top fullback, is leaving, to be replaced by Calum Chambers, who is a decent player, but hardly a top fullback; who played his best football for Fulham as a defensive midfielder. Ben White, who is a good player, is being added to the third-best defense in the league. Not what could be described as a ‘need’ signing.
Arsenal had two glaring needs coming into the window; a central midfielder that scores goals and provides assists and a #10 who can do the same thing. Thise need remain unfulfilled. Arsenal have yet to even attempt to sign a single player that meets those descriptions.
Emile Smith Rowe is a younger player, who might emerge as such a player, but expecting him to carry the team is both unfair and unrealistic.
Thomas Partey has never been that player and it is unlikely he will become that this season. Lokonga is a young player coming from a vastly inferior league. Expecting him to outperform Xhaka is equally unrealistic.
A player like Marcel Sabitzer or Youri Tielemans (who moved to Liverpool) wou.d have immediately made a difference, but Arsenal’s proven transfer geniuses decided another young center back (White is 23 – centerbacks tend to mature in their late 20’s and early thirties) was more important.
James Maddison is rumored to be on Arsenal’s radar, but will Leicester sell him after moving Tielemans? Jo Willock showed he can score on his loan to Newcastle, but there is a vast difference in roles form being extra punch from the bench for a midtable club like Newcastle versus carrying the scoring/assist load in central midfield for a club like Arsenal that aspires to be in Europe.
So far, Arsneal have tried to move on unwanted players but many still remain, in no small part due to Arsenal’s unrealistic valuations.
Everyone in the world knows Lucas Torreira wants to leave, they know Arsenal want him gone. Who in their right mind would pay any more than a token fee for him? Especially when he’s gone on record as wanting to return home to be close to his family. The same can be said of Sead Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Jeff Reiss-Nelson.
It is impossible to look at the moves the club had made to date and expect anything other than another midtable finish.
Bang on Paul…I must admit I was really in the mood to have a go today, as I’m more than a little perturbed by those within the pro-Arteta camp who have gone way overboard when it comes to their assessments of our window thus far, but you’ve already done most of the heavy lifting…thanks, I guess(JK)
of course, I hope White comes good, but realistically he was the 3rd best defender and 4th best defensive player, according to the numbers and the eye test, on a rather pedestrian, albeit well-coached, Brighton squad, so 50m logically feels like a bit of a stretch…as for Lokonga and Nuno, I like their potential, especially the young Belgian, but neither properly addresses the most problematic aspects of our gameplay….so until this managerial/administrative team actually redresses our most pressing needs and streamlines our incredibly bloated roster, I will, like yourself, remain ever vigilant when it comes to delivering the sometimes hard to hear truth…keep it coming!!
Paul I see matters completely differently from you on every single point you make. I think both Xhaka and Bellerin near useless, unlike you. I am certain Lokonga will vastly out perform the woeful Xhaka. I consider Chambers to be a far better RB than Bellerin has ever been, as Bellerin has never has any defensive ability at all. Ever!
I DO NOT AGREE ON OUR UNWANTED PLAYERS HAVING TOO HIGH VALUATIONS. I think they are realistically priced but no other club much wants them nor has any money in this Covid world we now inhabit. I say that Thomas Partey IS a top player, who you don’t rate.
I totally disagree that Arsenal have not even tried to sign a quality central midfielder; Aouar and Maddison are both top players and on our radar at least.
A real top class CB, as White will surely show us soon, is vitally needed and we have needed one of that quality since Sol Campbell left in2008.
I do not even agree on Reiss(his first name!) Nelson being called Jeff, as he is not. You are possibly mixing him up with JEFF REINE- ADELAIDE, who left us some time ago.
Finally, I am prepared to bet you personally substantial money that we WILL finish well above mid table.
Please sign maddison
Announce ben white today
We need maddison please sign him for us Edu