Noel Whelan insists that Arsenal’s transfer target, Ben White is exactly the type of player that they have needed.
White has emerged as one of the first players that Arsenal should sign this summer and the English defender is highly rated.
The Gunners would see off a long list of suitors if they eventually win the race for his signature.
The Athletic reports that the Gunners are close to reaching an agreement with Brighton over transferring the former Leeds loanee.
Like most football fans, Whelan has been impressed by watching White play for the Seagulls in the Premier League.
He hails the Englishman as a modern-day centre back who can play from the back and be a playmaker in defence for the Gunners.
He says that is exactly what they have been missing so far and he would bring a lot of value to the Emirates.
He could cost Arsenal up to £50m and Whelan reckons that getting an England cap has increased his value.
Whelan told Football Insider: “I think the international cap has really pushed his value up.
“I called it when he first came to Leeds that he’d be playing international football in two, three years.
“With the style of play, he’s a centre-back that is a modern-day centre-back. The one thing Arsenal have been missing is that playmaker from the back, somebody with that bit of pace.
“He ticks every box for me, Ben White, hence why we were priced out of him. We knew he was going to be a star, a big player playing international football.
“He does fit Arsenal down to a tee, I’ll be honest with you. If it wasn’t going to be Leeds, I think Ben White going to Arsenal, that is the style of player that he is now.
“In my eyes, that background of Arsenal, how they play the game, there’s no doubt about it, they need a rebuild at the back, especially in that centre-half area.”