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Opinion
Ben White will be very excited after hearing Arsenal have ‘verbal agreement’ with £55m striker
Ben White could face a slight predicament at Arsenal next season.
After Mikel Arteta’s arrival at Arsenal in 2019, Ben White was one of the first major signings to mark his new project.
The England defender was recruited from Brighton & Hove Albion and he immediately showed his quality in an Arsenal shirt, a transformative signing for Arteta’s back line.
However, White might have an issue at Arsenal next season — and his name is Jurrien Timber.
Timber was outstanding for Arsenal whilst White was undergoing knee surgery to fix a persistent issue, and the Englishman might have now lost his starting berth.
However, it’s a very healthy situation for Arteta, who will be hoping to create something similar in his attack next season.
Ben White has already played with Viktor Gyokeres
By all accounts, Arsenal want to sign a striker this summer and new sporting director Andrea Berta is seemingly leaving no stone unturned in pursuit.
In fact, after extensive checks, Berta has landed on Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting CP, a striker who has scored an extraordinary amount of goals in Portugal this season.
And after TBR Football revealed that Arsenal had held talks with Gyokeres, journalist Sacha Tavolieri has taken things one step further, saying that the striker has given his ‘verbal agreement’ to head to the Emirates.
Of course, that might be particularly interesting from White’s point of view given that he’s previously played in the same team as Gyokeres.
Both White and Gyokeres played together in Brighton’s academy, and the Arsenal defender did actually assist the Sweden international on one occasion.
Throwing it all the way back to 2018, White assisted Gyokeres’ winner in a 3-2 win for Brighton’s U23 side against Swansea City in a Premier League 2 match.
White was starting at right-back and Gyokeres on the left wing, a combination Arsenal might intend to reunite.
Ben White can help Mikel Arteta with Viktor Gyokeres call
Gyokeres has obviously changed quite a lot since his Brighton days — the seasiders actually decided to sell him to Coventry City for around £1m in 2021.
And since that move the Swede’s career has taken a huge upturn, a striker who is now respected among the best in Europe.
That being said, White might be able to actually lend Arsenal some advice in their pursuit of Gyokeres this summer, he should be at least able to comment on the striker’s attitude and application during their time sharing a dressing room.
And given the consistently glowing reviews of Gyokeres’ demeanour, White would surely be excited to play with his former Brighton teammate once again, especially given his progress.
Gyokeres will cost around £55m this summer, but it remains to be seen if Arsenal will pay that demand or seek a move for RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko instead.