Published: September 23, 2021 7:12 pm
Last Updated: September 23, 2021 7:16 pm
Ex-Arsenal defender William Gallas has, on Thursday, called into question the club’s hefty outlay on summer arrival Ben White.
Gunners stint
English stopper White of course proved just one of a host of reinforcements to Mikel Arteta’s ranks during the recently-closed transfer window.
As Arsenal continue their efforts to close the gap on the rest of the Premier League’s heavyweights, the board at the Emirates sanctioned the additions of all of the Brighton star, Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard and, lastly, Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Whilst the likes of Ramsdale and Tomiyasu have since gone on to impress, though, White has found the adaptation period in North London more challenging.
In his defence, the 23-year-old was forced to deal with an early bout of Covid-19.
But even when on the pitch, White has not exactly set the world alight, with his shaky display at Turf Moor last time out having sparked widespread concern amongst the Arsenal faithful.
I’m scared of this Ben White’s overall gameplay, man lacks confidence
— Zenitsu eyan Takehiro (@ekun_oko_Mikel) September 18, 2021
Should have paid £50M for Aaron Ramsdale and £30M for Ben White. Not the other way round.
— WelBeast (@WelBeast) September 18, 2021
‘Difficult to understand…’
Whilst White of course still has plenty of time to come good in North London, the hefty expectations on his young shoulders of course stem from the considerable sum which was ultimately forked over for his signature back in July.
Edu Gaspar and co. are understood to have paid out a hefty £50 million to their Brighton counterparts, a fee which resulted in more than a few eyebrows being raised.
And, as outlined above, on Thursday, one of Arsenal’s former defenders has joined the chorus of those to have expressed concern with the financial commitment surrounding White.
The man in question? William Gallas.
Speaking in an interview with GentingBet, one-time French international Gallas drew comparisons with the sum splashed out by Manchester United to bring in Raphael Varane this summer, calling into question whether White had yet proven himself worthy of such a big-money move:
‘It’s difficult for me to understand why Arsenal spent £50million on a player who is yet to prove himself at the top level and at the same time Manchester United can spend around £40million on Varane.’
‘You have to explain to me how it’s possible. Perhaps it’s partly because Ben White is English.’
Arsenal’s English defender Ben White during the pre-season friendly football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at The Emirates Sadium in north London on August 1, 2021 (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Varane is a different class player compared to Ben White. Ben White is still young. As I said, he hasn’t proved anything yet. How can you put a £50million price on him, you know?’
Gallas continued:
‘I respect him. I don’t know him. I respect him and I hope he will be the great player, but he hasn’t proved anything yet. You can’t compare Ben White and Varane, I’m sorry. It’s not possible.’
‘It’s not because he’s a fellow Frenchman that I’m talking like this. He comes from Real Madrid. He didn’t come from Brighton, with all respect to them.’
William Gallas feels Arsenal were ripped off in Ben White transfer dealhttps://t.co/nBMQ9P8Tbw pic.twitter.com/q0P0d7vR27
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) September 23, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | -3 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Watford FC | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 5 | -3 | 6 |
| 13 | Arsenal FC | 5 | -7 | 6 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 5 | -3 | 5 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 5 | -7 | 2 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 5 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 5 | -12 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 2 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 2 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Struijk, Pascal | Leeds United | 1 | 1 |
| Tanganga, Japhet | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Barnes, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Schar, Fabian | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 |
| Stephens, Jack | Southampton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 1 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
