Arsenal's approach for Ben White suggests a big summer of spending
By Harry Symeou
Ben White has emerged as a surprise transfer target for Arsenal this summer but given what it's expected to cost to land him, how can spending in excess of £40m on the defender be justified?
Even without European football next season, the Gunners must have more money to play with than any of us first envisaged - although where those funds are coming from is unclear. KSE have no form for putting their hands in their pockets and funding transfers, but there are rumours the club has recently taken out a substantial loan - some of which will be used to strengthen the squad.
Reports pertaining to Mikel Arteta's admiration of White have been doing the rounds for approximately a week now ,but on Wednesday it was revealed the Gunners had made an official approach for the 23-year-old. Despite Brighton rejecting the £40m offer Arsenal are expected to return with an improved bid.
Defence was by no means the team's biggest issue last season, only Manchester City and Chelsea in the entire division conceded fewer goals so why the need to spend big on a centre-back when there are bigger areas of concern? Well, David Luiz has left the club and many hoped William Saliba would return from a successful loan spell at Nice in order to fill that void but perhaps Arteta still isn't convinced by him.
In terms of his profile, White suits Arteta's game perfectly, he's comfortable on the ball, brilliant at progressing it, and would have no issues stepping into the midfield to join in with play. He's an upgrade on Rob Holding and given his potential, it would certainly be a good buy.
He'd help fill the homegrown quota and would be a worthwhile addition as Arsenal continue to rebuild in a bid to restore their Champions League status.
Just how good a buy White would be however, is dependent on whether or not it hinders them in rebuilding a midfield that was problematic last season, and has been decimated by the departure of Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka's proposed move to Roma.
In isolation it would represent a great signing, but the bigger picture is what the Arsenal fans will be most concerned about.