Arsenal agree £50m deal for English defender - Reports

Arsenal have reportedly agreed to sign Brighton & Hove Albion defender Ben White for £50m this summer. The Gunners had two bids rejected by the Seagulls earlier. But Sky Sports has now reported that Arsenal's third bid worth £50m has been accepted by Brighton.

Arsenal had a disappointing 2020-21 season under head coach Mikel Arteta. They finished eighth in the league and missed out on a European spot for the first time in 25 years.

The disastrous season was followed by the exit of experienced defender David Luiz. The squad has been trimmed further with young French center-back William Saliba loaned out to Marseille for the upcoming season.

David Luiz leaving Arsenal at end of season. 34yo told club today + they agreed. #AFC had not offered new deal & even if they did the Brazil int’l defender wouldn’t have signed as decision had been made to go @TheAthleticUK @SamiMokbel81_DM 1st off mark 👏 https://t.co/W00EY5VOlS

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) May 14, 2021

There are gaping holes in Arsenal's backline at the moment and the north London outfit have identified Ben White as one of the possible targets to fill the void.

Ben White has developed into one of the Premier League's young stars

Ben White had a fantastic 2020-21 season with Brighton. The young English defender made his Premier League debut for the Seagulls last season.

White joined Brighton as an academy player back in 2014. He was only 16 at the time and spent the next few seasons playing for their reserve team mixed with a few loan spells in the lower divisions.

His big break came in the 2019-20 season when he played for Leeds United in the Championship. He helped Marcelo Bielsa's side win the Championship before returning to Brighton last summer.

White fitted in seamlessly in the Premier League and impressed everyone with his overall display. The 23-year-old was commanding in defense and displayed great composure in bringing the ball out of the back.

His consistent run of good performances attracted the attention of the big clubs in the Premier League, with Arsenal and Chelsea leading the pursuit.

Ben White had a brilliant 2020/21 season

Arsenal seem to have won the race to sign Ben White

The Gunners are in desperate need of a centre-back, given the state of their squad. For a while, it seemed Chelsea could hijack the transfer as Arsenal had two bids worth £40m and £47m for Ben White rejected by Brighton.

However, as per Sky Sports' latest reports, Arsenal have reached an agreement with Brighton for the transfer of Ben White. The deal is now subject to medical and personal terms being agreed.

#AFC finally agree a deal for Brighton centre-back Ben White 🤝

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 17, 2021

Should the transfer go through, Arsenal will be hoping for White to partner Gabriel Magalhaes at the back. Both players are more than capable of carrying the ball out from the back, which will be key to Arteta's game plan at the Emirates next season.