[Photos] Ben White poses with No.4 Arsenal shirt after completing £50m move

Arsenal have announced the signing of Ben White on Arsenal.com with the highly-rated defender arriving on a long-term contract following a £50m move from Brighton.

Mikel Arteta has been on the look out for another centre-back this summer after David Luiz left the club when his contract expired last month and White was widely touted in the media as Arsenal’s prime target.

The Gunners have been locked in negotiations with Brighton for much of the summer and after seeing two offers rejected, a deal for the 23-year-old was finally agreed between the two clubs earlier this month.

The move was put on ice while White enjoyed a well-earned break in Greece after being part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad that went all the way to the final at Euro 2020 this summer.

However, White was spotted at Arsenal’s London Colney training base on Wednesday where he undertook his medical and completed the formalities of his move to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal have now announced on their official website that White has joined the club on a long-term contract. No confirmation on the fee has been revealed by the two clubs but several outlets claim Arsenal have paid Brighton £50m with the south coast club also due a percentage of any future sale.

After completing his move, White expressed his delight at joining Arsenal and confirmed he’s already spoken to Arteta to discuss how the ‘gaffer’ wants to play and is confident he can help get the club back where they belong.

He told Arsenal.com:

“I don’t think I needed too much convincing to be fair. Obviously Arsenal speaks for itself and I spoke to the gaffer a number of times during the summer. I got good vibes and the way the gaffer wants to play, I think I can produce quality in this team and hopefully get Arsenal back.

“I’ve played in the Football League, I’ve played for a number of teams on loan and the hunger’s still there. I’m really happy to be at a massive club like this and hopefully bring the level up of this team.

“When times get hard in games, I can step up and control situations. I’m very relaxed on the ball and through that I can produce quality in bad moments of the game.

“My main [position] is obviously centre back. That’s where I’ve developed over the years. I’ve slotted into different positions to help the team and I feel like I can do that to help the team. If I need to do that this season, I’ll definitely be up for it.”

White arrives as one of the best young defenders in British football so he should prove to be an excellent long-term signing for Arsenal and will compete with the likes of Gabriel, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding for a starting spot next season.

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The 23-year-old will wear the No.4 shirt and becomes Arsenal’s third major signing of the summer following the arrival of left-back Nuno Tavares and midfielder Albert Lokonga.

Here are more photos of White in his new Arsenal kit, courtesy of Arsenal.com: