Arsenal prepare concrete Ben White £50m transfer move

How Much Money Do Arsenal Have This Summer?

White would be an excellent addition in terms of what Arteta wants, but what else does he want? A club with such limited finances, even if the aforementioned figure is achievable where does that leave the rest of the transfer kitty?

Looking at the squad right now, midfield is the priority. Granit Xhaka is departing for around £18m and his departure will leave the biggest gap. There are glaring issues across this squad and while an upgrade on Holding is always welcome, it comes across as strange squad building if £50m is willing to be splashed out on a position where Saliba hasn’t even had a chance.

As far as resource distribution goes, unless Arsenal have secretly stumbled across a goldmine, their limited funds should be focused on other areas. White would be a superb acquisition (even if the dream remains for Saliba to hit the ground running) but where does that leave the Gunners for the rest of the window? It’s said that the club are looking to raise £60m in player sales, a number that would be almost entirely wiped out by bringing White in.

It’s not inconceivable that Arsenal could fork out £85m to Brighton for White and Yves Bissouma, if the latter is even desired any longer.

Looking at it from a strength in depth perspective, Manchester City have an embarrassment of riches at centre-back. They also have an embarrassment of riches in general.

Could this signal potential outgoings? Holding signed a new long-term deal in January, a wise move in regards to protecting his value. It could have been just that, too, with a potential sale to be sanctioned this summer although it does appear unlikely given the talk of him being a part of the core ‘leadership group‘ moving forward.

Konstantinos Mavropanos will almost certainly be sold or loaned, Calum Chambers would be exclusively a right-back and who knows, if the right offer came in, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Arteta sell Saliba.

When you go to the shops you don’t go straight for the items you need most, you go for the ones closest. Arsenal moving for White now doesn’t mean he’s seen as the number one priority, but it is important when you go shopping to ensure you have money left over at the end for the important items.