Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Arsenal are currently working towards offering defender Ben White with a new contract. This comes after the Gunners tied down their skipper Martin Odegaard to a long-term contract earlier this month.
Romano claimed that the England international has impressed the club officials with with performances on the pitch and his overall mind set. White could therefore expect a new long-term deal just like Odegaard.
Fabrizio Romano tweeted the following in regards to Ben White’s new contract:
“Arsenal are working to extend Ben White’s contract as he’s next one in the list after Martin Odegaard. Club very happy with his performances and attitude. New deal talks to advance soon.”
Ben White joined Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion back in the summer of 2021 for a fee of around £50 million. The 25-year-old defender penned a five-year contract until the summer of 2026 when he first arrived at the Emirates Stadium.
That means Ben White still has around three years remaining on his current deal with the North London outfit. Mikel Arteta’s side, however, will want to tie their star defender to a new contract to fend off any interest from other clubs in the future transfer windows.
White has been an intregal part of Mikel Arteta’s tactics over the past season. He was signed as a centre-back but has quickly transformed himself as the club’s first-choice right-back. This was mainly done to accommodate both Gabriel and William Saliba as centre-backs in the playing XI.
His versatility could primarily be the reason why Arsenal are so keen on offering thier defender a new contract.
As things stand, Ben White has started in all 10 games so far this season. He recently scored his first goal of the 2023-24 season, netting in a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Arsenal travel to face Lens in the UEFA Champions League next
Following thier emphatic victory over Bournemouth in the Premier League, Arsenal will now travel to France to face Lens in the Champions League on Tuesday (October 3). This will be their first away game of their European campaign this season.
The Gunners made a great start to their Champions League campaign, securing a 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium. Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard were the goalscorers on that occasion.
Lens, on the other hand, started their Champions League journey with a 1-1 draw against Sevilla away from home.
Mikel Arteta will want his side to back it two wins a row against a side languishing in 14th place in Ligue 1.