Arsenal to Everton transfer perfect for two parties but Arteta decision on £69m duo makes deal unlikely
Ben White leaving Arsenal for Everton makes sense for two of the three parties, but this potential January transfer has no chance of happening…
Arsenal‘s ruthless approach to transfers has enabled the Premier League giants to build a near-complete squad with more balance than any side in England and potentially Europe.
The north London outfit have spent a lot of money, as proven by their standing in our net spend table, to get in this position, but it has handed head coach Mikel Arteta a stacked squad with multiple quality options in every department.
This, combined with the decline suffered by Manchester City and Liverpool, means it is no wonder that the Gunners are clear at the top of the table and well-positioned to end their prolonged trophy drought by winning multiple accolades this season.
Their cut-throat model has ensured that some very talented footballers have been left behind after being harshly upgraded to take Arsenal to the next level, with White the prime example of this.
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White, like Aaron Ramsdale before he was replaced by David Raya, has done very little wrong since joining Arsenal in a £50m deal from Brighton, but he has found himself behind Jurrien Timber in the pecking order over the past 18 months.
England international White is a very good footballer, but there has been little more he could do to increase his minutes in recent months because Timber, who is among the best full-backs in Europe, has simply been too good.
This season, Timber has largely remained injury-free to start in all but two of Arsenal’s Premier League games, while White, who has had fitness issues, has been restricted to only four starts in the league.
So, especially with it being a World Cup year and Thomas Tuchel opening the door for his return, it comes as no surprise that there have been murmurs of White leaving Arsenal this month.
On Sunday, Football Insider revealed information on Everton ‘turning their attention’ to White to ‘solve their problematic right-back issue’.
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Seamus Coleman’s injury has left David Moyes short of options at right-back, so the, albeit ambitious, possible move for White is about the best fix they could hope for as a market opportunity in January.
You could also see White, too, being in favour of this deal if he genuinely has ambitions of playing for England at the World Cup, with his current situation giving him no chance of a return.
However, Arteta and Arsenal’s board are never going to sanction this deal, even if it means they have a frustrated player in the building for the final few months of this campaign.
Arteta has already reportedly made it clear that he has no intention of letting Ethan Nwaneri or Myles Lewis-Skelly, who are valued at £69m combined on transfermarkt, leave on loan this month, and if they are not going, White certainly won’t be.
If Timber gets injured, White would be Arsenal’s only other fit right-back, so he is more important than Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly at the moment, though Arteta is understandably keen to keep all of his current group together as his side looks to battle for trophies on all four fronts.
To maximise Arsenal’s chances in each competition, Arteta will feel that he will need every single player, including White, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly, to do a job at some stage, so they will not be going nowhere and Everton will have to look elsewhere.
