30 November 2023 , 22:30
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Arsenal are confident of tying down Ben White to a new deal.
Talks have progressed well between the versatile defender, his representatives and the club in the past few weeks. They are now hopeful of him putting pen to paper on a new deal which would be another major boost for the Premier League leaders.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu have been keen to reward the 26-year-old for his impressive form and progress. White joined Arsenal in a £50m deal from Brighton in 2021 and has played at both centre half and right back for the club.
He will have two years left next summer and Arsenal now have a policy of tying down their top stars to new deals. Edu has been a driving force to make sure they sign up players to avoid mistakes of the past like Aaron Ramsey who was allowed to walk away and join Juventus on a free transfer.
They have been shrewd in tying down the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba to ensure their young generation stays at the club for the best years of their careers. White has struggled with injury issues this season and Arteta has managed his game time carefully but this new deal underlines his importance to the team as a skilful and ball-playing defender who can play in different positions.
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Arteta has also been keen to reward players for performances and that explains why they have been so proactive to give new deals to players who were such a key part in last season’s title challenge and their impressive start to this campaign. Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League, they have qualified for the Champions League knock-out stages as Group winners and are determined to push for major silverware this season.
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Ben White has played more than 100 times for Arsenal since joining the club in 2021 (AP)"I didn’t even dream like this," Arteta said after Wednesday's 6-0 Champions League victory over Lens. "But we had the chance to qualify today and become top of the group and we’ve done it in a really convincing way against a really good side and I think the team right from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game, everything happened in the right way, especially in the first 30 minutes and that was really helpful to win the game.
"It’s a great that we are able to win in this way, but I think consistently we have shown at home not to concede any goals, and score a lot of goals, that’s a really positive factor," he added. "Those players need to have those experiences, and believe that we can do it against big opponents, now let’s wait, we have to park it and in February we will know who we are facing and let’s see how we are in that moment."