Arsenal’s Ben White is looking for more regular first-team football amid the prospect of summer transfer interest in his signature, according to a report.
Charlie Wyett reports for The S*n that Ben White is set to have options to move on from Arsenal this summer, and the Gunners right-back is looking for more regular first-team football.
That’s perhaps not surprising, with the 28-year-old playing 19 matches this season but only seven of those appearances coming in Arsenal’s 28 Premier League fixtures.
White has primarily been used as an alternative to Jurrien Timber in the Champions League and the cups, with eight of his 13 starts coming in those competitions.
Part of the issue has been White’s fitness. He began the season with a start against Manchester United, only to be ruled out for the rest of the month. He made three Premier League starts and one Champions League start in December, only to miss the next three games with a hamstring injury.
The defender played 79 minutes in the 4-0 win over Wigan the weekend before last, only to miss out on last weekend’s squad for the north London derby with another injury. He remains a doubt to feature in the squad against Chelsea this weekend.
Almost every time White has been given a chance in the Arsenal team, it’s ended with an injury absence, which makes it difficult to plan around his involvement.
Fabrizio Romano reported this week that Arsenal could be set to prioritise a move for a younger right-back in the summer transfer market, which could be related to the growing noise around White’s potential exit.
Arsenal made the tough decision to release Takehiro Tomiyasu last summer, with the Japan international a strong player on his day, but unable to put a run of games together.
As it stands, it feels like White’s Arsenal career is heading in the same direction. Though with two years on his deal and significantly more appearances than Tomiyasu was managing, White should at least command some sort of fee this summer.