Fabrizio Romano insists that negotiations over the signature of Ben White remain ongoing, while Granit Xhaka is also ‘even closer’ to leaving Arsenal for Roma.
The England international has emerged as a key transfer target in recent weeks, with the club believed to be close to agreeing a deal with his current club Brighton and Hove Albion.
It remains to be seen what his arrival could mean for our current defenders, with William Saliba, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers, Gabriel Magalhaes and Pablo Mari currently in line to battle it out for playing time.
In midfield we have the opposite problem, with Dani Ceballos having left a hole in the centre after he returned to Real Madrid after a second loan spell, but that hasn’t stopped us from negotiating Granit Xhaka’s departure, which Romano insists is ‘even closer’ to getting over the line.
Fabrizio Romano stated in his column with the BenchWarmers: “Arsenal are still working on Ben White, the agreement with Brighton has yet to be finalized because the latest offer will need to be improved in the structure of the add-ons but there is optimism. As well as on the sale of Granit Xhaka, ever closer to AS Roma.
Could Arteta be keen on keeping five senior options(plus the versatile Chambers) at centre-back this season?
Patrick