According to The Athletic, Bukayo Saka played a part in convincing Arsenal that Ben White was the right man to sign this summer.
Arsenal headed into this summer knowing they needed a centre-back, and they seemingly identified White as their top target quite quickly.
So much due-diligence will have been done on White with scouting, video analysis and data analysis, but the Gunners also asked for a reference from one of their players.
Indeed, Mikel Arteta reportedly asked Bukayo Saka about White during their time together at Euro 2020, and the youngster apparently had nothing but good things to say about the centre-back.
Saka may be a winger these days, but perhaps he has a future as a scout, as White is a player Arsenal seemingly deemed to be worth £50m, and his reference played a part in this signing.
Would Arsenal still have signed White if Saka didn’t giving him a glowing review? We’ll never know, but it is interesting to hear that Arsenal turned to Saka to ask about a player they were seemingly ready to spend massive money on.
It just goes to show the level of trust the Gunners have in Saka. The 19-year-old may have been labelled ‘special’ in the past, but it’s clear to see that Arsenal see him as much more than just a talented footballer.
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