Arsenal target Ben White has "got everything" needed to be a top-level player, according to Gunners legend David Seaman.
White has been the subject of some intense transfer speculation this summer, with Arsenal having already had one bid of around £40 million ($56m) rejected by Brighton for the centre-back, who spent a year on loan at Leeds United during the 2019-20 season.
But the Gunners are expected to return with an improved offer for the the England international, who Seaman believes would be a fine addition to Mikel Arteta’s squad.
What has been said?
Speaking to Goal about the prospect of Arsenal signing White this summer, Seaman said: “He’s got everything [needed] to go and take hold of it and give it his best shot.
“He’s got the physique, he’s got the temperament. At Leeds it’s a high-press, high-tempo game, so his fitness is also not in doubt.
“The only question mark you can put on him is can he play in the big games? But we’ll just have to wait and see, because he’s not played in them yet.
“Hopefully he will go on and play for England and when he does that, hopefully he will carry on [with his development].
“Would he be a good signing for Arsenal? Of course he would because he’s a good player.”
Age is not an issue
Some Arsenal fans have raised concerns over the possibility of spending up to £50m ($70m) on a defender who is just 23 and has only played one season in the Premier League.
But Seaman is adamant that age should not be seen as an issue and pointed to other top-level young players who are currently starring in the top flight.
“No, not at all, not now,” the former England goalkeeper said when asked if White was too inexperienced to land a big-money move to a club like Arsenal.
“It’s like when you see the England team now, you look at Mason Mount and Phil Foden, those sort of guys. They are young guys and they are just getting on with it.
“At that age, they just have no fear. They just want to play and enjoy it.
“It’s when they get a little bit older and they’ve had a bit of stick that they start worrying.”
Luiz needs replacing
While some have questioned Arsenal’s need to bolster their options in central defence this summer, Seaman believes the departure of David Luiz means Arteta is right to target a new centre-back.
“I’d like to see a strong defender come in,” he said. “Obviously David has gone now and that for me is going to be a big miss because he’s a very influential player.
“I know a lot of people questioned him and whether it was a good signing, but I felt it was because when he signed he was better than anything that we had.
“There is no doubt about the fact that Arsenal need to improve.
"We are at a stage of Arsenal’s history where it’s like, ‘where do we go?’. Finishing eighth is nowhere near good enough and we have no European football this season, so it’s going to be harder to attract players.
“We need to improve a lot. Not just on the field but in our thinking as well. Not just run it as a great, profitable business, run it as a successful team on the pitch and then everything else follows.
“That’s what we were brought up with. George Graham always told us, ‘win stuff on the pitch and everything else will follow’.”
*David Seaman was speaking as part of Just Eat’s ‘rolls for goals’ campaign, which will see free Greggs sausage rolls given away for every goals scored at Wembley or Hampden Park during Euro 2020.
Fans can get their hands on a free sausage roll the day after the match on all Greggs orders over £5 placed on Just Eat, regardless of which team scores the goal.