Ben White moves to Arsenal for reported £50M

Arsenal made Ben White one of the most expensive signings in club history on Friday by completing a reported £50-million transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion.

The twice-capped England center-back signed a long-term contract with the Gunners. Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are the only two Arsenal arrivals who have cost more than White.

The 23-year-old is Arsenal's third major signing of the summer window after Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares joined from Anderlecht and Benfica, respectively.

"Ben is an intelligent defender who is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and his style fits perfectly with us," manager Mikel Arteta said. "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."

White will presumably leap ahead of Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari, and Calum Chambers in the defensive pecking order and arrives having spent much of last term in a back-three at Brighton. He also occasionally appeared in defensive midfield.

White earned the Seagulls' fans-voted Player of the Season award for 2020-21 and was named Leeds United's Young Player of the Year for his efforts on loan during the 2019-20 Championship campaign.

Arsenal have splurged significant sums on center-backs Sokratis Papastathopoulos, William Saliba, and Gabriel in recent years. The latter remains in Arteta's first-team plans, but Sokratis now plays for Olympiacos while Saliba is spending a third consecutive season out on loan. David Luiz also spent two years on the payroll until he left this summer.

Brighton, meanwhile, still have captain Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Dan Burn, Shane Duffy, and youngsters Jan Paul van Hecke and Leo Ostigard to choose from at center-back.