Mikel Arteta has admitted that he is ‘very excited’ to see what Ben White can do in an Arsenal shirt.
The Gunners finally completed a £50 million deal to sign the 23-year-old from Brighton & Hove Albion toward the end of July.
And tonight, White is in line to make his competitive debut for Arsenal as Arteta’s side gear up for a Premier League curtain raiser away to Brentford.
This had developed into quite the transfer saga, but the Spanish coach has intimated to the club’s official website that White was a player that the North Londoners had been tracking for much longer than just this summer.
Asked how good the England international is, Arteta said: “I am very excited. He is a player that we have looked at for a long time. He fitted the profile of exactly what we wanted and he’s settling in really well.”
Huge season
This is a huge season for Arteta, it has to be said.
In his first full season at the Emirates, Arsenal could only muster an eighth-placed finish under the former Manchester City assistant.
A strong start to the campaign is imperative if the Gunners are to enjoy a second full year under Arteta but there’s already some doubts over their recruitment.
Nobody denies that White – who will earn £120,000 per week in North London – is a fine defender, but scoring goals, not conceding them, was the biggest problem for Arsenal last term and with three weeks left in the window, not a single attacking player has been signed.
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