Arsenal have signed England international Ben White from Brighton.
The 23-year-old, who was part of the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 squad, has penned a long-term deal at the Emirates for a reported £50million after completing his medical on Friday.
White impressed for the Seagulls last term, making 36 Premier League appearances and leaves for a club-record fee.
White cut his teeth with loan spells at Newport and Peterborough but it was a season-long stay at Leeds where he really developed and followed that up last season for Brighton.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said on the club’s website: “Ben was a top target for us and it’s great that we’ve completed his signing.
“Ben has been educated with two very good clubs, Brighton and Leeds, in recent seasons. He has benefitted well from two very good coaching set-ups and has shown with both Brighton and on loan with Leeds what a strong talent he is.
“Ben is an intelligent defender who is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and his style fits perfectly with us.
“And of course, he is still young, so his age and profile fits with what we are building here. We are all looking forward to Ben being central to our future long-term plans.”
Consistency the key for 'crucial' White
He may only be 23, but White has already made more than 150 professional appearances, a total helped by another 40+ return of games during a temporary switch to League Two side Newport back in 2017/18, when he first started to turn heads.
Through a combination of poor form, injury and player departures, Arsenal's backline has chopped and changed since Mikel Arteta arrived at the helm in December 2019.
Looking at last season, the 3195 minutes White was on the pitch dwarfs that of all four Arsenal centre-backs.
The fact no Brighton player featured more than him in the Premier League in 2020/21 shows just how crucial a player he was to a team regularly praised for their performances, even if the results didn't always reflect those showings.
