Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has offered Ben White’s services to Barcelona ahead of the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Gunners have been in excellent form this season as they lead the Premier League by five points to second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Their recent form hasn’t been great with Arsenal winning just three of their last eight Premier League matches – but they are still on course to win the title if they win all their remaining matches.
Arteta significantly strengthened his squad in the summer transfer window with over £250m spent on new additions as the Arsenal board backed their man.
They have incredible depth in most positions with quality players like White, who has suffered from injuries, playing a lot less football this season.
White, who has brilliant for a couple of seasons after signing from Brighton in 2022, is now firmly a back-up option with the Arsenal defender starting five Premier League matches this term.
And there seems to be little future for White at Arsenal as reports in Spain claim that Arteta ‘has offered him’ to Barcelona as he looks to get him off the wage bill.
The Gunners ‘have decided they no longer count on the English full-back’ with ‘the potential move is seen as a replacement or complement for Jules Kounde’.
The report adds: ‘The proposal is no coincidence. Ben White possesses characteristics particularly valued in the Barcelona model. He can play as a centre-back or full-back, offers reliability in ball distribution, and maintains a very disciplined profile. In a system like Barca’s, where Flick looks for players who understand the game well, the Englishman could be a perfect fit.’
Arsenal boss Arteta ‘continues to fine-tune his squad and is looking to optimise resources, which opens the door to negotiations’ for White and other squad players.
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White has struggled to get a regular role ahead of Jurrien Timber but Arteta did praise the Arsenal defender for his performance in the Gunners’ 2-0 win over Brentford in December.
Arteta said of White: “Personally, I’m very, very happy for him as a human being.
“I think the rest of the team is the same because he’s a player who has always played for us, and sadly, because of the right reasons, he wasn’t playing that much because Jurrien [Timber] was excellent, and he was out for a while, and then he needed to earn his place.
“But his attitude has been so positive, so good. Then when you are ready and you’re given the opportunity, you take it like he did today.
“So I’m very happy that we have him back in the best version of himself as well, and we’re going to need him because he’s a tremendous player.
“The first thing as a defender is he defends, and defends with that purpose and with that determination and efficiency. He’s done that today.
“Then if he can add the value that he can add with the ball through his passing, through his movement and through the deliveries that he can put in with the quality that he has, so be it, and today I think he’s done both very well.”
