It would appear that Ben White is Mikel Arteta’s top target to help improve on Arsenal’s already respectable back line, that ended the season with the third best stats in the Premier League.
But it has to asked whether £50m is a very high price, considering that White has only played one season in the Premier League. He did earn the the Player Of The Season award from Brighton in his breakthrough EPL season, after having helped Leeds earn promotion from the Championship the previous season on loan.
The Arsenal legend David Seaman, who knows a good defender when he sees one, thinks that White would be good addition to the Arsenal team: “He’s got everything [needed] to go and take hold of it and give it his best shot.” Seaman told Goal.
“He’s got the physique, he’s got the temperament. At Leeds it’s a high-press, high-tempo game, so his fitness is also not in doubt.
“The only question mark you can put on him is can he play in the big games? But we’ll just have to wait and see, because he’s not played in them yet.
“Hopefully he will go on and play for England and when he does that, hopefully he will carry on [with his development].
“Would he be a good signing for Arsenal? Of course he would because he’s a good player.”
But does Seaman think that the £50m price currently being quoted for White could be considered a bit high in today’s market? “No, not at all, not now,” he continued. “It’s like when you see the England team now, you look at Mason Mount and Phil Foden, those sort of guys. They are young guys and they are just getting on with it.
“At that age, they just have no fear. They just want to play and enjoy it.
“It’s when they get a little bit older and they’ve had a bit of stick that they start worrying.”
So, Seaman’s verdict is that even at £50m White is worth the money, but what do you think?
I’m depressed. If Arsenal are going into the new season with Ben White as a key component, I think we’ll soon be missing Xhaka. I don’t know what to make of Arteta outside of the fact that his footballing philosophy makes me cringe.
😂😂😂😂 submit your philosophy to the Emirates stadium then!!!😆😆😆😆😆😆
Ben White is probably worth 15M.. We are only wasting our money :/
I’m on the same depression boat as you. Arteta and the entire Arsenal board are turning something I loved into something I’m hating. It is sickening to imagine some arsenal fans want us to trust this madness? How low can u go. That’s why I stay off here because it makes me cringe that there are fans who will accept mediocrity. Is it not double standards now, u wanted emery and we get gone for doing better than this but for some twisted reason. Arteta is our saviour? Wake up and smell the coffee.
👍
Hard to understand how a club can deviate from a player they scouted and watched over a period of time and then pay 27m to acquire his service, gave him no chance to play, then end up putting him on the side while looking at paying 50m for a similar kind of player, is that what u wud call typically arsenal wasting funds?
Not only saliba, guendouzi and torreira too :0
Sven Mislantat is obviously not a very competent scout in Arteta’s “expert” opinion.
Arteta only wants HIS players His he did not sign Saliba he wants his team
Sure
At what cost?
It seems Arteta is desperate for a right sided ball-playing CB to replace the qualities that David Luiz brought to the team. It also seems he is not convinced that the players we already have at the club have these qualities to a level he requires. Based on what I have seen of him, he’s pretty adept at passing and carrying the ball. He also has pace which is lacking in our defence. As has been mentioned, he has proved to be capable of playing in a high press, high tempo game which the manager wants.He’s young so has resale value and his game can only improve given his potential. As an advantage, he’s versatile and can cover RB and CDM when needed. He also helps with the homegrown quota should we decide to offload a number of our HG players. The fact that he’s HG is probably the reason why his fee is a little inflated. It’s a no brainer for me. We should get him, other top clubs have 4-5 quality centre backs.
If Arteta wanted a ball playing CB, then perhaps he should try coaching up the players to develop those characteristics.
Instead, he seems to prefer the checkbook manager route.
Hasn’t Arteta already spent money buying 2 CB’s in Gabriel and Mari?
Why buy them if they aren’t the technical CB he wants? Shouldn’t he at least try Mavroporas and Saliba before throwing £50 million at YET ANOTHER CB?
For a defense already 3rd in league why buy another CB? Especially when our midfield is on life support and worst in decades.
Aside from Martinelli, Edu has shown very little except being a yes man for Arteta.
So are we still believing “in the process” or have we transitioned to “the project?”
Both are PR stunts to keep fans at bay; along with Emirates move and their “competing with best for transfers,” and all the other hits over the years.
Less talking and more doing, the one thing club hasn’t tried during Kronke’s reign.
Exactly right, Durand. Arsenal will probably sell Saliba and Mavropanos for a loss without giving them a chance and spend £50 million on White.
I sure would like to know from Onyango the probability of a sell on profit for a £50 million CB given Arsenal’s track record?
He’s definitely overpriced at £50m considering last season was his first in the premier league which followed a successful loan with Leeds in the championship the season before so I would say he is worth £30-35m max, we apparently offered £40m which should been enough.
I do think he would be a good signing as long priority positions are addressed also(RB LB DM CM CAM) he has pace which we lack with our current central defenders bar saliba, his ball carrying/passing ability will help progress the ball from the back and his versatility will be beneficial when we are short in other positions amid injuries or for example afcon decimating our midfield losing partey elneny and hopefully bissouma? He could then step in with the also capable chambers, lokonga(if signed) and willock even.
Yes I agreed.
50m is over priced at today’s market. Look at Liverpool purchased.
35 to 40m is the max.
We have Gabriel, Holding, Mari, Chambers, Saliba, Mavropanos, as CB’s….. and even Tierney who plays for Scotland in back three. To buy Ben White is pretty silly when we are spoilt for choice. We even have Omar Rekik knocking on the door. Stupid to go for Ben White. Buy James Maddison or Nabil Fekir. Hard to understand where this club is going? Mismanagement to me.
😂😂😂 some comments make me laugh, is Arteta wrong to want an upgrade on the CBS he has? Hav you even seen rekik play?have you seen Dinos more than 3 to 5 times? Nobody even knows what’s gonna happen with Saliba yet. If he starts with holding and chambers and mistakes happen I know you will be front of the queue to cry for the sack letter😆😆😆 some fans should honestly support darts and not football
Baba
How many times have you seen Ben White. Three to five? Or are you following him. Your comment makes me laugh because we are stocked with potential CB’s and simply have other positions that must be filled much more urgently. What do people think? Another CB or a quality attacking midfield player and a quality deep-lying playmaker. What do other’s think
Ben is a better bet to perform RIGHT NOW than Saliba. I’m not saying he’s better than Saliba but with fans like u not willing to be patient for success, then White is a better bet for Mikel to ease Saliba in and get the performance he craves in that position quickly
@Baba sagna, it’s some fans like you who give the impression that either they have no ambition and are happy with below avg performances or either they are probably smoking same stuff as some of the board members are smoking at Emirates. What evidence can you provide that Ben White is an upgrade on our current CBs. So by your logic Holding is more regular at a much bigger club then Brighton so by this logic he is way better then Ben White. I won’t even go to Mari and Saliba. If no one knows Saliba will work then how are you sure Ben White will work? It’s not he is coming from top 4 EPL club where he was a regular. Use your brain man, he is 23 year old who played for Brighton. You Arteta fan boys are blind as bats. How about you start making new excuses already for your dear manager because this what ya all do all the time. When you have no substantial argument then you guys start saying Arteta is club manager he should be respected and supported. A club where being ambitious and success hunger is branded negativity from some fans like you certainly has difficult time ahead.
@ Logic, I’ve not insulted anyone with my comments and seeing as you called me and others who support the club and manager as blind as bats then I’m not gonna hesitate to dump a truckload on you. Firstly your name defies you yourself, you name yourself logic but are quite foolish and illogical. I said in my comment that it’s not certain that white is better than Saliba, it’s quite obvious that Arteta really wants Saliba eased in, at the same time he wants dependable performance from that position simultaneously, if you can’t understand that simple concept then you aren’t sensible enough to pick a simple football conversation, so take your poison to those who share in it and leave me alone man…go get a life or forward your application to the Emirates stadium requesting to be the manager….. Illogical fan😂😂
Arteta is wrong to spend 50 million upgrading a position that is not a priority need. He is not at Man City with unlimited resources. Brighton is playing us for fools. No other club would pay that price.
We have seen Guendouzi and Torreira play, yet they will go too.. I simply dont understand Arteta ://
Yes, Baba, Arteta is wrong to want a supposed upgrade on his available CB’s, when he hasn’t given some of them the opportunity to perform in an Arsenal shirt and there are other more pressing positions in the starting eleven to be addressed.
Arteta should have prioritize left back to cover Tierney cos he is injury prone and ryt backs and a good attacking midfielder like Aouar so if he buys 3 players, but big players for the coming season, then he will be adding other 3 also big players, then the team will be complete but not buying many players without impact ,so he must buy hakimi ,ryt back ,and Aour plus any good Tierney cover ,then he will buy white next season not now
Well doesn’t really matter what us fans think Edu, Arteta and the owners will do what they want, let’s just hope they do the right things and improve the squad.. I couldn’t stand another massively underwhelming season.
Exactly man, it doesn’t matter… Some fans think they’d be given the pen to sign Arteta’s sack letter…. lol 😂😂😂….
Only the silent one can do that 😝
We have left them to do what they want for over a decade but doing nothing, its time now to take our ideas
What we gonna do? Burn the Emirates maybe???
We can stop the first premier league game if the transfer is shit.. By that I mean how much we will spend. They promised us 250M so we will see!!
Block the first premier League game!?? Wow!! Maybe we should also block the whole season too😂😂😂😂
Meant as a reply to Sean William
From most reviews he seems a good player but not worth the 50m tag, even if we add a homegrown premium. At max 30-35m, as said by 03 gooner. But while there has been little developments, lets hope our recruitment team get this window right and we go on to have a cracking season.
People have been crying about Arsenal not spending big.
Now he comes a big money signing and we are already getting touchy.
Lol 😂
Funny, Isn’t??
If we have d Funds, Let us Spend!! Get Ben White, Bissouma, Lokonga, Andre Silva .Get any Bloody Talented player out there!!
The way some of our fans make excuses is Terrible..
We have Saliba, let’s not sign defender..
We have Pepe, let’s not sign any winger..
We don’t need a striker..😏🙁
They see some of our players as World Class..
And When d season starts, most will come here Crying again..☹️😒
Vinnie, it is midfield where the upgrades are most needed, unless Arsenal now has a bigger transfer budget that we anticipate to spend money elsewhere, IN ADDITION.
How would you call a Defender who has played a Full EPL season, inexperienced??
In other words, Foden is also inexperienced!!😕
Or Ramsdale is inexperienced..😒😒
Or Lamptey is inexperienced too..😕..
Hope Most of us here are not full of sentiments??
D Saliba and Mavro that some rave about..
They are so Experienced, right??
Yes, White is overpiced, but so is every decent homegrown player these days. We are particularly sensitive to that as not only did we catch a cold kast season, but we still are over-balanced with foreign players.
I rate White very highly, and he is in my opinion potentially soon to be world class. His speed, passing, composure and tackling are exactly what we need. I don’t get why two outstanding English seasons make him an inexperienced player? If thats true then its back to buying pensioners…
Any teams with ambition should always be improving their squad and white does that, and he is available. I dont get the argument not to buy him because we already have (inferior) players.
Not for a minute do I think it will stop us also spending cash on AM, DM and perhaps a top striker. The cash IS obviously there, even if not the £250m mooted. Just because he may be the first in it doesnt mean he is the only, the most expensive or the most important signing, but he could be the one of the key ones.
It appears that some of those criticing Arsenal for not spending, or buying cheap and older players, also don’t like us buying good, young, exciting footballers…
The window is barely open yet, let’s wait and see.
Ben White world class …you lost me there 😂😂🤣🤣
Your comment is so on cue for me. agree fully.
Spot on Guy,
I find it hilarious that the majority of Gunners on
this site who are clamoring for Champions League.
football honestly think that a CB room of Holding,
Mari, Saliba and Gabriel is good enough for
Arsenal to seriously compete for a top four finish.
The combination of mediocrity and inexperience
is exactly why MA is spending over the moon for
Ben White. What happens and it inevitably will if
one of these four suffers an extended injury setback?
Is Calum Chambers the answer @ CB against any of
the Top 5 clubs?
Ben White is a very talented and versatile defender
that Arsenal DESPERATELY need.
Is he worth £50M, only time will tell.
ACE, Ben White makes sense if there is also an upgrade of midfield. A partner for Thomas Partey is required, such as Yve Bissouma and an ACM is required to take the pressure off ESR. Matheus Pereira (West Bromwich Albion) has good stat’s in a poor side, EPL experience, right age and a fair valuation.
If the midfield is not addressed Arsenal will continue to stagnate, both in going forward and defense.
ACE, I don’t find it hilarious, but actually am dismayed that Arsenal believe they can go into another season with no DM, to allow Thomas Partey to play as a proper box to box midfielder and without an ACM to take the pressure of ESR.
Hopefully, Joe Willock is given his head and allowed to reproduce the form he showed at Newcastle United under Steve Bruce and Callum Chambers is given opportunities at DM.
Inexperienced? He’s in the England squad at the Euros!
He will replace Xhaka and not play CB.
Interesting thought Declan. What if he has been brought in to play DM rather than CB? Or RB?
Head explodes.
While our house is on our fire, how does our rookie manager uses his last bucket of scarce water?…..to soak the garden! This is an unnecessarily risk we are now required to endure because we failed to appoint an experienced manager.
The signing of Ben white is highly welcome.I don’t like the sight of Holding and Mari in that defence.THEY are sluggish.Even Chambers should be sold.I’m tired of the average guns at Arsenal
We will because that is what we do then we cry that we don’t spend big enough. It’s not owner’s mistake if the money which is available is spent in such a stupid fashion. We did not learn from before when we spent 70million on Pepe and we won’t learn when we will spend 50million on Ben White.
Some fans slated MA for not signing Buendia for 40m.
The same fans are here saying 50m is overpriced for Ben White. Some Arsenal fans on here are never satisfied.
How can we be satisfied after finishing 8th and failing to qualify for Europe…the first time 25 years. Don’t you want the best for your team?
I would certainly support a 40M decision to strengthen our midfield instead of a 50M on a cosmetic or luxury CB.
👍 RFrancis.
You state that you want the best for Arsenal yet are
satisfied with a CB room that isn’t good enough atm
for a serious Champions League run. David Luiz was
SADLY Arsenals best and most influential CB last
season before injury ended his NL career. Holding,
Mari and Gabriel’s performances individually and
collectively were exactly where Arsenal currently
sits in the EPL, mid table at best.
Buendia is the savior, but Ben White is a waste of
money.
SMMFH over and over and over
Some fans recognise what we lack and what is required so they want club to spend there. But some fans are just happy with club spending just for sake of it and it does not matter to them if that money is spent on the need of the team.
👍 👍
Spot on
Curious if you honestly think a CB room of Holding,
Mari, Saliba (if he’s given a chance) and Gabriel is good
enough for Arsenal to make a serious run @ the Top
4 this season?
Some of us on this site genuinely believe that improving
the talent @ CB is a vital NEED for Arsenal this summer
What happens if one of Saliba, Gabriel, Holding, or Mari
suffers a long term injury setback. Is CC the answer?
MA and Edu obviously need to address the midfield
situation but it’s a little perplexing that a good number
of fans on this site seem to think that the CB room is
Top Four ready. LOL
ACE, what about midfield; the engine room of a successful team?
It seems Arteta want to build an English core. White, Maddison were linked, but it will be expensive
Also why not signed Grealish , him and saka have good understanding..
People want White…that’s 7 CBs…..how meny do the club need…..and whos should be sold…..+….another LB and RB….+…..another 2 prolific striker…+…..DM……that’s 5 new players…..a lot of players need to be sold….very busy transfer window…..😀😀😀😀😀
I’m coming round to the idea, after initially having reservations! He’s young, so thankfully not just a stopgap. It is a big fee, yes, but we’ll get our money’s worth for sure 😄
I’m looking forward to welcoming him to the Arsenal.
Our window is finally hotting up…
👍 He can also play in midfield so when lose partey elneny bissouma(hopefully🙏) to afcon him, chambers and lokonga can hold the fort.
Sue, shocking only £5m for mavropanos but he has a sell on clause, hopefully he smashes it at Stuttgart again and gets a big money move so we get a massive windfall
Excited to see what Lokonga has to offer, O3. Henry recommended him and he favours us over any other club – all good in my book 🙂.
But haven’t we made a profit on Mavropanos? Haha… Seriously though it is low, better than a bag of M&Ms though 😄.
Still plenty of time for more incomings and outgoings. Going to be a good summer, 03 👍
He is not a regular midfielder. How can Arsenal fans be satisfied with a make shift DM from club like Brighton who is unproven also in DM role. Chambers can play three roles and AMN two as well so by this logic they are more valuable then Ben White.
👍Logic, they would be valuable at any club, but Arsenal FC.
We do not have same budget as Chelsea or Citu so why blow it on an unproven player plus on a position we have adequate cover. No one knows if his price will go up either. Only teams that can buy him from us for more than 50million in future are Man United, Chelsea, City and Liverpool, out of these clubs none look like they would be purchasing Ben White in future as they have pretty good age CBs at the club plus they have already gone big on other CBs. No foreign club will spend that big on an English defender (not renowned for their defending). So I don’t know who will buy him for more then 50million of our hands.
He hasn’t even kicked a ball for us yet… plus the window is far from over!
I dont see any problem with Arteta buying White the only consern is there are some position which need re-enforcement like DM &CM and he should do so, as for Saliba, he should first get premier league experience by moving on loan to any PL side.
Sky sports is reporting that Mavropanos is off to Germany again on loan
This deal just doesn’t add up to me at all. And I have said so long before now in many other fora
The only way I can understand it is if it turns out that Arsenal have so much money enough to bring in quality players in the areas we really need them – LB, DM(2 if Xhaka is leaving), AM and ST
It’s been a while since arsenal have a top english centre back in the team. I think White can go on to be a top english centre back after a season or two. I for one believe he will be a great addition and form a great understanding and partnership with whoever is his centre back partner.
I will say this again. I think the dynamic duo have got their priorities wrong (again).
I think the main problem with the Arsenal defense last season stemmed from the midfield.
I really think we need to strengthen our defensive midfield play first. Adding Ben White might help a little, but look at his Brighton team. They let in more goals than Arsenal last season.
In a 4-3-3 formation, I believe we need two strong defensive midfielders, and a playmaker (who also defends).
England play Rice AND Phillips in midfield, along with Mason Mount. We played Partey, Xhaka and Odegaard.
Judge for yourselves!
Amen! JW.
👍 👍 Amen, plus one, but they can’t see it! 😎
Amen plus one. It’s sad
I think Ben White is going to play as an inverted RB….he played most of last season as a RB and his experience playing as a DM will help him to be an inverted RB
Francis, does that mean he bounces along on his head? 🤔