Arsenal make decision on selling £50m signing to Premier League rival | Football

Everton are likely to be disappointed should they pursue a transfer move for Ben White this January, with Arsenal reportedly determined to block the defender’s exit.

White cemented his place as an integral and trusted member of Mikel Arteta’s starting XI after completing a £50million move from Brighton in July 2021, making 134 appearances in his first three years with the Gunners.

But White has plummeted down the pecking order after missing a total of 27 games through injury last season, with Jurrien Timber continuing to go from strength to strength to nail down the right-back spot.

Though White also provides strong cover at the heart of Arteta’s defence, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes – widely regarded to be among the finest centre-back partnerships in European football – are deemed undroppable when fit.

To add to that, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie have both enjoyed excellent starts since arriving at Arsenal last summer, further complicating White’s pathway to regular first-team minutes.

Reports at the weekend suggested Everton had been alerted to the situation and were ‘eyeing a move’ for White, sensing a potential opening to solve their issue at right-back.

Jarrad Branthwaite and Seamus Coleman are currently sidelined through injury and the Toffees were said to be ‘waiting in the wings’ and ready to ‘pounce’ should a deal become available for White.

However, according to football.london, Arsenal have ‘zero interest’ in sanctioning White’s departure midway through the season, meaning Everton will have to focus their attentions on other targets – namely Genoa’s Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Sevilla’s Juanlu Sanchez.

The runaway Premier League leaders are determined not to lose any momentum in the second half of the campaign and weakening or destabilising their squad by losing White is simply ‘not an option’.

It’s claimed White remains a ‘focal part’ of Mikel Arteta’s plans and there is every possibility the Englishman’s playing time could increase, with games coming thick and fast.

Arsenal’s hierarchy will be expected to assess White’s future with Arteta at the end of the season.

Given White has not regressed since arriving at the Emirates four-and-a-half years ago, Arsenal would be reluctant to ask for significantly less than the £50m they paid for the versatile defender.

White’s current contract runs through to June 2028 and includes the option of a 12-month extension.

The former Brighton and Leeds man has made just 13 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this season, with only four of those matches coming in the Premier League.

On Sunday afternoon, White was handed a rare start as the Gunners came from behind against Portsmouth to secure their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The ex-England international was on the field for 69 minute before Timber came on in his place at Fratton Park.

‘Personally, I’m very, very happy for him as a human being,’ Arteta said after White put in a fine performance against Brentford last month.

‘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 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.’

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