Ben White 'close to agreeing new Arsenal contract'

The 26-year-old has been lauded for his consistency since joining the Gunners from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2021, commanding a £50m fee to leave the Amex Stadium.

White started out as a centre-back for Mikel Arteta before transitioning to a right-back role, and the England international has kept Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares out of the team with his strong displays.

From 98 appearances in an Arsenal shirt, White has come up with three goals and five assists, registering all but one of those contributions in the 2022-23 Premier League season, where he did not miss a single match.

The ex-Brighton man has also started 14 of the Gunners' 15 games in all tournaments this season, scoring once against Bournemouth, and the only game he did not make the starting lineup for was a 2-1 Champions League loss to Lens.

White is not due to become a free agent until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, but the Gunners are working to tie him down to a new-and-improved extension in the coming months.

The defender has confirmed that he wants to sign a new deal at the Emirates Stadium, and according to Football Insider, conversations with White's entourage are progressing well.

Arteta supposedly views White as a crucial part of his Arsenal team for the coming years, and there is confidence from all sides that an accord will be reached before the end of the campaign.

Since transforming Arsenal from a mid-table team to Premier League title challengers, Arteta has prioritised renewals for a plethora of his young stars along with sporting director Edu.

Over the past year, all of Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Reiss Nelson have extended their deals, while Eddie Nketiah also penned fresh terms last summer.

Once White's long-term future is secured, Arsenal could apparently turn their attention to Oleksandr Zinchenko's contract situation, with the Ukrainian's deal also due to run out in the summer of 2026.

Zinchenko has shone in an inverted left-back role for Arteta since reuniting with his former Manchester City coach last summer, scoring one goal and setting up two more in 45 matches so far.

White and Zinchenko are both expected to be involved in Wednesday's EFL Cup fourth-round tie with West Ham United, but Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus will all miss out through injury.

Wednesday's London derby will see Declan Rice reunite with his former club for the first time since his £105m move to Arsenal, and Arteta is hopeful that the Englishman will receive a warm welcome back to Stratford.