Ben White now expected to sign new Arsenal contract

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·7 December 2023

Ben White now expected to sign new Arsenal contract

Arsenal are working to tie down Ben White to a contract extension, and transfer insider Dean Jones has revealed, in an interview with GIVEMESPORT, why the Poole-born defender would be ‘mad’ not to commit his future to the north Londoners.

Mikel Arteta parted ways with £50m back in 2021 to sign the sought-after star from Brighton & Hove Albion on a five-year deal, per Sky Sports, though it is believed that the Spaniard is keen to see him stay for longer.

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The Gunners have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to retain the services of key personnel such as Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Martin Odegaard, and it seems White, a four-cap England international, is next in line.

White in ‘pole position’ for contract extension

After finishing five points off the pace in 2022/23 despite topping the table for the best part of the campaign, Arteta and his entourage are keen to better their eventual standings come the end of the season – and step one of the former Manchester City assistant manager’s plan is to keep a hold of his star men, one of which is White, who has played 1,632 minutes of football across all competitions this term.

Since joining in 2021, he has become a regular starter under Arteta’s reign, totting up three goals and six assists in his 105-game stint at the capital club. And as a result of his persistently impressive displays, the north London-based outfit are reportedly optimistic over the prospect of keeping the 26-year-old at the club.

According to the Mirror, talks between his current employers and the versatile defender, astute enough to play at centre-back or on the right of the defence, are progressing positively. With the £120,000 earner having two years left on his deal next summer, the report suggests that sporting director Edu has been instrumental in their work behind the scenes.

Journalist Ben Jacobs previously told GIVEMESPORT that White is poised to be ‘the next important name to extend' his stay at the Emirates Stadium, while insisting that the deal was making relatively fast progress. And while adding to their ranks with the finest assets on the market will be attractive to their fans, having their current stars extending their stay will also be a welcoming factor in their search for their first Premier League title since 2003/04.

Dean Jones on Ben White

On White’s current state of play, Jones insisted that penning a contract extension is inevitable given the circumstances. Referencing Arteta’s project, the transfer insider claims that players would have to be ‘mad’ to not want to be a part of it.

For stars such as Emile Smith Rowe, moving on may be a way of earning more minutes, while the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu and White, who are regular starters for the league leaders, will be keen to prolong their respective stays in London. To add, he suggested that the club have been working on his contract extension for a while now. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:

“Look, I think it'd be a bigger surprise if they were not willing to sign a contract right now than if they were. I mean, if you are going to walk out on this Arsenal team at this moment, then you're a bit mad, to be honest, especially if you're actually part of it. “I understand if this was Emile Smith Rowe, and you're barely getting the look in and you're just desperate for games and to step forward, then I can understand why you might have some reason to look for something else. But if you're Takehiro Tomiyasu or Ben White and you're looking to get out of Arsenal right now, then you're mad. I think people are jumping at the chance to be part of what Arsenal are doing, so there's nobody that should be looking to jump ship right now. “So while it looks like it's a boost that they’ll have players like this willing to sign up, I think within the football club, it's almost expected that you would sign a new contract in this moment, especially Ben White. They've been working on that for a while now.”

Arsenal handed transfer blow in Douglas Luiz pursuit

While Arteta, upon adding £105m-worth Declan Rice to his engine room, has forged one of the Premier League’s most formidable midfield departments, he is still keen to enrich it further with Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz. According to ESPN, Arsenal had three bids - worth up to £25 million - rejected by the Midlands club in the dying embers of the 2022 summer window, with them adamant that Luiz would stay put beyond the window, but could return to the table with an improved offer in the turn of the year.

According to Rudy Galetti, writing for CaughtOffside, Luiz is the club’s main target heading into the winter transfer window. The report suggests that, although the deal is currently appearing as 'complicated', they are still keen to snare the 25-year-old, who has less than three years left on his Villa Park contract, all while their Premier League rivals Liverpool are among those interested, too.

Sky Sports, suggesting that he is solely focused on plying his trade for Unai Emery’s high-flying Villa as things stand.

"I am very happy to hear the stories, but I am here at Aston Villa. My focus is totally here. I don't spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don't focus on that and I'm not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa.”