Image via @Arsenal
Arsenal made Ben White their third signing of the summer in a deal worth £50m. It’s a monster transfer fee and a massive bet from Edu and Arteta. The player will pick up the #4, a legendary number at the club, and hope to take us back to past glories.
So what is all the fuss about with Ben?
Whether you like it or not, for an Arteta system to thrive, we need a ball playing centre back. It’s not a secondary consideration. David Luiz was the player that best reflected the profile of defender we need, the coaching staff believed him to be our best defender, and it’s hard to disagree when you look out how our attacking play was dented with him out of the team.
Remember the mission for the summer? Reduce errors in the system by half, become 20% more clinical down the other end of the pitch.
The gamble on Ben White is that he has the core skills David Luiz has. He’s supremely confident on the ball, so passing out of the back will be more comfortable. He also has the ability to drive passes through the lines, a part of our game that really struggles when Rob Holding steps in. His most impressive attribute is how he literally carries the ball up the pitch like a midfielder.
The biggest difference between him and David Luiz? About 11 years. Those 11 years are the difference between slow and fast which is reflected in red cards and sloppy penalties. If you want to reduce errors in the system, signing a ball playing centre back that can run is a good start. 11 years is also the difference between, ‘I’ve been there, done it and I can’t be arsed’… and ‘I have it all to prove, and I will go to war for this club.’ David Luiz was a bit above Arsenal. He’d won it all, played for the greatest managers, and just didn’t fancy it in certain games. Remember the West Ham game last season? He didn’t show up. Remember the City game when he was benched? Luiz is an immense person to have on your team in big games, but if things aren’t perfect for him, he can be a disaster. You always knew which player had showed up after 12 minutes. We deserve a player that will always show up.
Ben White needs to solve for the above.
I like the idea on paper. It’s a pricey one, but if you want Arsenal to get back to the top, these are the sort of deals you need to do. United signed Harry McGuire and everyone laughed at them, it’s not so funny now, is it? Big clubs invest in big positions. The major question is whether this guy can make the jump, but I like his character. Binned by Southampton, sent out on loan to Peterborough, Newport, then Leeds where he played nearly every game on their way to the title. Then a big season at Brighton where he landed a call-up. He’s starred for two highly technical managers with very different systems. That shows his intelligence and ability to adapt. It hasn’t been a straight shot to the top, nor has it been guaranteed… but for me, if you’ve slummed it, when something big comes along, you grab it.
Mike Arteta is very excited about the move.
“Ben was a top target for us and it’s great that we’ve completed his signing. Ben has been educated with two very good clubs, Brighton and Leeds, in recent seasons. He has benefitted well from two very good coaching set-ups and has shown with both Brighton and on loan with Leeds what a strong talent he is.
“Ben is an intelligent defender who is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and his style fits perfectly with us. And of course, he is still young, so his age and profile fits with what we are building here. We are all looking forward to Ben being central to our future long-term plans.
This transfer has to work for the manager. It’s a huge move and it makes the team he has now very much his own. Now it’s time to deliver. We need to see speed through the team, we want to see more variety in our play, and we want all that with the same level of defensive security we’ve had for the last 18 months.
There’s some other news doing the rounds regarding Xhaka. Amy Lawrence suggesting Roma are messing around and we’re going to offer him a new deal to protect value.
Sorry, what?
Protect the value of a player no one wants to buy for another 5 years? If he doesn’t leave, it’ll be a really dark moment in our summer. He’s a good player, but his limitations can’t continue to be propped up by special strategies. We need to move him on and bring in someone like Bruno Guimarães. I also struggle to see Xhaka wanting to stay, surely he’s done with Arsenal? Hopefully, this is just the standard negotiations tactic from Arsenal.
Finally, St. Louis is suing Stan K for £700m. Daniel Ek thinks that might result in Kroenke selling. I have my doubts.
LISTEN TO THE DAMN PODCAST.
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Legendary No.4 didn’t think Saliba hit legend status while occupying the no. 4 shirt
Finally got a signing over the line
Muppetman, Saliba has never had an official squad number.
I know Pedro, was more tongue in cheek as Saliba was given 4 when he signed.
Hahaha….We’ve not only downgraded from David Luiz to Ben White but also sacrificed on height as well for £50 million…
David Luiz-189cm vs B.White 182cm
🙂
‘After Ben White deal, Arsenal are focused on Xhaka.’
Says Fabrizio.
So does that take precedence over the attacking midfielder? Backup keeper? Right back???
@FabrizioRomano
After Ben White deal, Arsenal are focused on Xhaka. New contract proposed as per @TheAthletic – board confident to convince him.
Hahahahaha! If Fabrizio along with Athletic says so, it’s a certainty. Wtf is wrong with those idiots???
Cast your mind back to the end of the season and Mikel stated that everyone at the club will remain for the next season. Looks like he wasn’t bluffing..
So that’s:-
-Tavares-£8 million
-Lokonga-£16 million
-Partey-£45 million
-Gabriel-£23.4 million
-Mari-£4.5 million
-Runnarson-£1.8 million
-Soares-£5.4 million
-White-£50 million
———-
£150 million + under Arteta over 20 months.
————–
——
This season 2021/22 so far..
Three incoming transfers…
-Ben White-£50 million
-Lokonga_£16 million
-Tavares-£8 million
and no outs so far:
Xhaka
Bellerin
Nketiah
Willian
Willock
Runarsson
Auba or Laca…
Well,this transfer window will be certainly interesting.
Xhaka staying was a condition in the Ben White contract negotiations
Raptora, Romano is referencing The Athletic, he’s not corroborating. The guy doesn’t know every single deal in world football. He just curates it to make it look like he does.
Won’t Brighton be looking for a new CB?
Why not offer them Holding or Mari for £20m? Considering that we bought Holding for £2m and Mari for £12m, it will be a tidy sum either way.
Rumours were rife that Brighton were planning to offer £25m to Celtic for Eduard… I wonder if they would be interested in Eddie for £10m…
Let’s get our midfield sorted next.
Cmon eduteta, get on it…
PHD, White won’t be a downgrade on Luiz.
For those quick to say no… remember they were asking to loan him a little while ago.
Holding cost us 2m
White cost us 50m, don’t really see the 48m upgrade if I’m being honest.
We will need a new RB when bellerin leaves cause cedric is an awful starter.
Xhaka renewal explains why the rumors for Neves died a month ago and why the only player Arsenal have been actually trying to replace Xhaka with is Locatelli. The failure to bring Locatelli, means that Arsenal is trying to hold on to Xhaka.
Surely there are at least 5 football players that will be an upgrade on Xhaka and will accept to join us? Or is it only Locatelli in the whole wide world? Damn, this Xhaka must be a top class new transfer!
Ben White If some of you in here are so clued up and “IN THE KNOW”. Don’t boast about knowing we were signing him. The Agent and the club wanted us to know. It was the worst kept secret. However ill tell you what they DON’T want us to know. How much are we paying Ben White per week? Funny how all these ITKs and news bulletins are leaving out that critical piece of information. 50M for ben white? A good deal? Ok what if he’s being paid 150k pw? Still a good deal? For 5 years!?! What about 160,… Read more »
I’ll say this, I don’t know whether Ben White will be a success, but it’s good to see the club supporting the manager for once.
£50m for White? I hope we’ve bought the new VVD!
£30m this year plus £20m spread over the next two years… plus performance bonuses if applicable according to Duncan Castle.
Come on let’s be positive on the White transfer. Regardless of the cost I’m sure we all want him to smash it, if not you aren’t really a fan. Think the xhaka contract talk is more to try and get things moving with Roma. Well I hope so as I can’t stand another season of him.
Correction Hahaha….We’ve not only downgraded from David Luiz to Ben White but also sacrificed on height as well for £50 million…David Luiz-189cm vs B.White 182cm We paid £30 million for Saliba who comes in at a height of 192cm for a CB and loaned him out..Forget about his performances last season in France. Where we could have gained an extra 3cm (for a CB) from succession planning -Luiz to Saliba,we’ve sacrificed 10cm=3.937 inches in height to Ben White(182cm) who cost £50 million relative to Saliba at 192cm who cost circa £30 million a few seasons back. Is it me-nit picking,… Read more »
Xhaka on a new deal kills the window for me….possibly the season.
Big clubs invest in big positions.
United sign Varane for 41 million.
Liverpool sign Konate for 36 million.
Bayern sign Upamecano for 38 million.
Yes big clubs invest but they also invest wisely. We don’t.
Hacker?hacker? How do we solve a problem like hacker?Like a boomerang.Keeps coming back.
Xhaka new deal? Possible Translation — we can’t afford to sign anyone else because we’ve blown the money on White…
Unless we sell our fringe players; like no tomorrow!
BEN WHITE
IM EXCITED
It’s also weird how we’re pointing to spending 50 million on Ben White as a sign of progress under Arteta but 70 million on Pepe under Emery is ridiculed to this day.
Leeds, there’s a couple of Italian journos saying the Xhaka move is happening.
If the player wants out, he’ll get the move. Really think he just wants a new challenge.
I really hope we don’t offer extension to Xhaka… the definition of a one dimensional player, perhaps not the worst to have worn the jersey but nowhere near as good as he think he is.
“Throwing buzzwords such as binary in every post doesn’t make you smart. Don’t pretend you are very subtle and nuanced. You should be the last person on this blog to talk about objectivity.“
Says a lot that you think the word binary is used to boost the optics of a post. It’s your narrative in nutshell, hence the near daily remarks about posters and their views ‘aligning with what Arteta wants’. If I’ve little ground to talk about objectivity then it should be out of bounds to you entirely.
This Xhaka news flooring a lot of people, hopefully this is all posturing for Roma to make a satisfying bid so we can move on.
I always say that stats must pass the eye test so I don’t think these tell a complete picture but here are some kinda interesting stats last season comparing luiz and balding Appearances Rob 30 Luiz 20Goals Rob 0 luiz 1Assists Rob 1 luiz 0Total passes Rob. 1800 Luiz 998% passes forwards Rob 34% Luiz 36%Pass completion Rob. 87% Luiz 83%Big chances created Rob 0 luiz 1Through balls Rob 0 luiz 3Clean sheets Rob 11 luiz 3For blocks, interceptions, tackles, aerial duels won, successful tackles, clearances, headed clearances Rob averages give or take double luiz’s numbers in only 50% more… Read more »
United signed Harry McGuire and everyone laughed at them, it’s not so funny now, is it?
/
Yes it bloody is! Ha! No other team in the world will pay £80M plus high wages for harry Mcguire.
UTD are still pissin in the wind throwing money at the problem. Don’t let that poxy 2nd place finish fool you. The Europa League final tells you all you need to know about where they really are.
Harry Mcguire??? Behave yourself!
Seriously am I misremembering this?
The golden period of our season which arteta lovers keep barking back to was the period afer Xmas where we were scoring more and conceding less.
When Luiz was not in the team.
“£50m for White? I hope we’ve bought the new VVD!“ Except we didn’t. White might turn out to be a very good Arsenal player but unless he can experience a very late growth spurt to the tune of 4 inches he will never be dominant in the air like VVD. VVD is a once a generation freak and what really grates about any comparisons or even mentioning his name on Arsenal forum is that we should’ve had him when he was personally recommended to us from his Celtic days. Kompany and Keown said he’s the best the PL has ever… Read more »
Our form became patchier several weeks after xmas. Iirc around the time luiz and Gabriel were both reinstated?
Ben White.. exciting.
Xhaka… resigning possibility … makes me want to throw up in my mouth .. a little.
Anyhow… I don’t think Kroenke will sell either. The NFL is complicit in helping the Rams move to LA. They won’t want a long drawn out court battle to expose the inner workings of their good Old boy… Billionare’s network led by Jerry Jones. So I expect the lawsuit will be settled out of court and the NFL will help Kroenke pay any costs under the table.
Pedro
I hope you’re right on Xhaka… no use keeping a player who doesn’t want to be here. The same goes for AMN and Nketiah. We should surely be able to say two English youngsters for £15m/£20m each?
How come other clubs sell their English stars so much better than us?
La croqueta, United finished second last season with Harry, then the player got to the final of Euros with England conceding just 1 goal… with Pickford in goal.
He’s one of the best ball-playing centre backs around. If he was called Harraldo McGuillermo, people would rate him higher.
PedroJuly 30, 2021 16:57:45
PHD, White won’t be a downgrade on Luiz.
———-
Time will tell…
🙂
Wasn’t it a year or so ago the worlds biggest and best clubs wanted bellerin and xhaka? Funny how every single transfer window when these guys can actually been bought and no paper talk is needed. Nobody wants them. Not for £20M anyway lol. These over 25s are absolute trash. Besides Pepe and Partey. Literally not one player over 25 we can get £20M for them.
I remember guys on here listing Laca “30 years old” zette for £30M???!?! Ridiculous
Where are all these clubs wanting our great players? Ha!
Leeds, AMN, Reiss, and Eddie see themselves as Arsenal stars, they don’t want to leave. I don’t think they are advised very well.
Midwest, I was out with a girl last night who was at Jerry Jones daughters wedding the other week. I’ll get the goss
China1July 30, 2021 17:26:17
Seriously am I misremembering this?The golden period of our season which arteta lovers keep barking back to was the period afer Xmas where we were scoring more and conceding less.
When Luiz was not in the team.
——
Nope, objective recollections do not vary… You’re not forgetting anything.
🙂
Arsenal are offering Granit Xhaka a new deal until June 2025 with an increased salary – more than what AS Roma are proposing in their contract bid. ⚪️🔴 #AFC
AS Roma last bid was €12m + €3m add ons, turned down. Arsenal are now confident to extend Xhaka contract soon.
My memory is this We started the season poorly (Gabriel holding combo. Gabriel started well, holding not that well). Then Gabriel got dropped not sure if holding did too. But that period building up to Xmas we were dog shit After Xmas it was holding mari and we scored more and conceded less. Then Gabriel and Luis started to be transitioned back in and our form became patchy again with good and shit periods I don’t recall any period when we appeared to be missing luiz. He was often there when we did badly and often wasn’t when we did… Read more »
This is ridiculous if true!!!!!
China, yes, you are making us explain to you again that David Luiz made us play better football and he was there for lots of the games we played well in post-Xmas… even the games we lost.
Duration of Xhaka’s contract extension revealed in the video below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQfxi8V5FA
I was out with a girl last night who was at Jerry Jones daughters wedding the other week.
Charlotte? That’s cool
Arsenal in 20/21 with David ‘Beckenbauer’ Luiz:
18 matches:
-7 Wins, 5 Draws, 6 Losses.
– 26 points from a possible 54 points
– +6 GD
Arsenal in 2021 without David Luiz:
20 matches:
– 11 Wins, 2 Draws, 7 Losses
– 35 points from a possible 60
– +10 GD
Were 2 matches that Luiz technically played mins in (1 minute vs Sheff Utd in 2-1 win and 8 mins in 1-0 loss to Citeh) that I included in the did not play camp.
As I said in the last post a new deal for Xhaka, on improved terms, sours the window for me. I don’t care if Roma were low-balling us, we need to rejuvenate the position.
Pedro we didn’t play well in many of the games we lost post Xmas
And he was there during some of our worst games as well
He didn’t make us better. It’s just as you wrote last summer ‘he will not be missed’
Why does Arteta ignore the midfield problem?
Aging strikers and no attacking mid how the hell can we improve?
Midwest, I was out with a girl last night who was at Jerry Jones daughters wedding the other week. I’ll get the goss
___________-
Whoaaaaa I bet that was one hell of a bash… that guest list would have been impressive. to be on. no doubt.
MuppetmanJuly 30, 2021 17:35:11
Arsenal are offering Granit Xhaka a new deal until June 2025 with an increased salary – more than what AS Roma are proposing in their contract bid. ⚪️🔴 #AFCAS Roma last bid was €12m + €3m add ons, turned down.
Arsenal are now confident to extend Xhaka contract soon.
——–
Pure banter…Only at Arsenal.
Leeds they won’t offer £20 million because he ain’t worth it in this market. At most £15 million and even then they won’t be looking to pay out @anywhere close to that sum
So less wins, less points, more goals conceded, lower GD with our undisputed best CB eh…
I don’t know how anyone can watch David Luiz and Rob Holding build from the back and fail to spot the difference.
Of course volume of passes and completion stats are going to be good, that’s standard for a CB at Arsenal. But there’s a massive difference in weight of pass, choice of pass, progressions, carries etc.
A new deal for old granite will just about prove the level of ambition at Arsenal. There will be no doubt whatsoever on it
Arsenal can’t even get 17m for xhaka but think he’s worth a pay rise
Guys please don’t tell ishola. This is some next level arsenal twilight zone shit
Charlie yeah the stats are basic. I wouldn’t claim they’re more than that. But this memory of luiz being this great on the ball player regularly evades me. He has the odd moment but is much less stand out than people give him credit for
Charlie
The data proves that we were no better with Luiz in the side last season as without him. Slightly worse in fact.
And you were defending that moronic comparison to RVP earlier?
WengerEagleJuly 30, 2021 17:44:03
So less wins, less points, more goals conceded, lower GD with our undisputed best CB eh…
—-
And 7cm shorter(B.White-182cm) if you’re comparing him to Luiz(189cm) or 10 cm shorter if you’re comparing him to Saliba(192cm) at £50 million for a CB from BHA.
Well the side can’t claim any sort of ambition, we’ve not improved the starting 11 of a side that came 8th after an abysmal campaign last year. I keep trying to rack my brains as to what Josh was referring to when he said be excited.
Only arsenal would give a new contract to “protect the value” of a worthless player. Hopefully he’ll say no like mustafi
Midwest, I’m getting a foot massage from the girl who blew Robert Kraft, at least I think it might be her. For extra $20 she might divulge some of his secrets.
WE like pierre always says with cbs it is all about partnerships but individually luiz was our best and most talented cb especially when it comes to moving the ball forward. Are u arguing with that fact?
Being taller didn’t help Holding to outjump Sterling as he headed the Man City winner.
Ishola quitting this blog might’ve saved his life if Xhaka is to be extended.
I would argue that yeah Raul
What’s the evidence for it? On the eye test he’s known for wild swings between world class and costing you points and on the stats front he has been outdone by even Balding who is by no means considered our best or even second best CB
Artedu has sacrificed height on defensive aerial possession for £50 million.
Lol
Hahaha Tom… Who “allegedly” blew Robert Kraft. It was all a big misunderstanding according to his lawyers.
Seriously though Jerry Jones in Texas is like Jesus the Pope and Elvis all rolled up into one.. He can do no wrong.
Re. Xhaka
Huge admirer of GX.
But he has done his time at AFC.
5 years is enough.
No new contract, he can go on a Bosman in 24 months time.
BHA must be having a jolly up on the beach front with their speedos,deck chairs and tan lotion.Going skinny dipping…
Ben White is the same height as Sergio Ramos.
Raulishuss
A half season is a large sample size as we all know with the incessant since Xmas table that is ever-present on here.
The hard data shows that we are no better with Luiz in the side, that we barely score more goals for all his amazing ball progression being spoken about and we concede more. Less points, less wins.
Are you disputing all of that?
The original point was that the White signing was not a massive priority of ours as Luiz wasn’t a massive figure to replace hence where the asinine Van Persie argument came in.
Is he as good as Sergio Ramos?
MidwestGunJuly 30, 2021 17:58:31
Hahaha Tom… Who “allegedly” blew Robert Kraft. It was all a big misunderstanding according to his lawyers.
—-
Yeah,what happened to Robert Kraft?
It all went quiet..The New England Patriots Owner-right?
No prosecution?
WE, there isn’t much data you have access to that shows how Luiz opened up games. I don’t many people can argue that from a ball progression perspective, Arsenal were better with Luiz there… even in games we lost.
CG you’re not fooling anyone we’ve got no love or affiliation with the arsenal you’re just a clown(much like emery by the way) who likes to moan like a little girl.
Pedro in most of the games we lost we were trash
Have you literally forgotten last season???
Midwest, yes,” allegedly “, wouldn’t want Legrove getting into any legal problems.
PedroJuly 30, 2021 18:00:41
Ben White is the same height as Sergio Ramos.
—–
Hahaha ..Sergio Ramos is 184cm..B.White is 182cm.
That said,is Ben White as good as Sergio Ramos for the fee of £50 million?
Scratch the fee,can B.White be compared to S.Ramos?
Pedro
We scored 1 more goal with Luiz in the side than without him over half a season of matches (18 vs 20). And conceded 5 more.
How is that not a proper sample size? Can you show the evidence that we were a much more progressive side with Luiz in the team?
Pedro it appears luiz was opening up games for the worse? Lol
Is he as good as Sergio Ramos?
No but he’s tall