Arsenal: 3 players impacted by Ben White transfer

Arsenal want to sign Ben White. That’s not a sentence many expected they’d be reading during the summer transfer window, even if this time of the year is known to cough up some shocks and thrills along the way.

First it was Jules Kounde whose name rose to the front of the queue, with the outstanding young French centre-back listed as a big target for the Gunners despite the obvious flaws in their pursuit.

With Manchester United and Chelsea among the keen parties, the unavoidable lack of Champions League football was always going to put a stop to any hopes of Arsenal edging in front of the pack. Secondly, the huge £50m fee didn’t help.

That latter point was due to be a big drawback but, as it turns out, not so much. Without any European football, a cripplingly high wage bill and nothing but ownership IOU’s to live off, that kind of outlay seemed entirely implausible unless the Emirates Stadium was due for a Monopoly style mortgage.

Arsenal: 3 players impacted by Ben White transfer if Gunners sign Brighton centre-back for £50m in summer transfer window

However, with the strong interest in Brighton’s Ben White, who will cost Arsenal between £40-£50m, a deal classed as not ‘insurmountable’, the entire complexion of the window has changed. If indeed Arteta’s side have such financial power to spend on a position that, while important, is not the priority this window, surely they’ve got a few quid in the bank.

There has been no formal approach on said interest but it is due to arrive shortly, with White now the number one target for the the position as Mikel Arteta seeks to strengthen an area weakened by David Luiz’s departure (another sentence not expected to be said this summer).

On the surface, £40m spent on a very talented 23-year-old centre-back with Premier League experience and now an England international is reason to optimism. A player with an excellent profile, already impressive ability-wise and with room for further development is the kind of signings ambitious clubs make.

But Arsenal already have some centre-backs on the books. They’ve also previously bought them in 2014, 2015, 2016 (two), 2018 (two), 2019 (two) and 2020 (two). If White does arrive at the club as the hierarchy hope, who in the current crop gets affected?

1. William Saliba

The obvious one is William Saliba. Costing near £30m two seasons ago, for all the love and adoration he has from a fanbase who’ve yet to see him kick a competitive ball for them, this signing has to be deemed a disaster.

Such an immense amount of money on an 18-year-old, only to loan him back to the club he was signed for, then to spend half a season with the Under-23’s, hold a grudge against his new employers for not being able to play in a cup final and then to go out on loan for another six months is not how this deal was meant to have panned out.

It’s been a total mess and even if Arteta played no part in his original signing, someone somewhere must be asking him to try and make some use of a player the club spent so heavily on. As a coach he hasn’t been able to find a solution.

Now back in north London, White’s arrival seemingly ends his chances of earning more than just fleeting Premier League minutes. It’s a huge ask to start a 20-year-old in the English top-flight without any prior experience, and a decision Arteta will not take with just a few months to convince the club he’s the right man to lead them.

It isn’t all over, though. After all, Saliba excelled playing on the left side of a centre-back pairing and with that option, he can fill in for either position should he be needed. Sure to play cup minutes, there is scope for him to be part of both rotation and as a backup in case of injury in either position.

Sure, it’s not ideal for him, but at such a young age his own versatility can be put into effect, the like that also includes operating in a back three, which White can do just as well.