Selling Ben White now would be Arsenal solving the wrong problem.
The emotional case for keeping him is obvious. Supporters love him, he understands Arteta’s football and he has been part of the group that took Arsenal from Champions League outsiders to champions. None of that should decide a transfer at this level. The football case is stronger anyway.
White started against Manchester City five months after another difficult season with his body and looked like Arsenal’s safest defender. He handled Doku and then Grealish, including an important block before half-time. During Arsenal’s opening goal he also moved inside from right-back and became part of the midfield structure that allowed Lewis-Skelly to receive further forward.
That last detail matters.
The best version of White was never a conventional right-back. During Arsenal’s first title challenges he could form a back three in possession, move into midfield, overlap Saka or defend a winger one against one. His relationship with Ødegaard and Saka became one of Arsenal’s most productive mechanisms because the opponent could never be certain which of the three would stay wide. Arteta could alter the right side without making a substitution.
The problem has been availability. White underwent knee surgery during 2024-25 and then suffered another significant medial knee ligament injury against West Ham in May, ending his season before Arsenal’s final league matches and the Champions League final. He had made only 30 appearances in 2025-26 after another stop-start year. At 28, two consecutive campaigns affected by knee trouble are something Arsenal have to price into every squad decision.
Which brings us to Jarell Quansah.
Reports last week said Arsenal had opened discussions over the England international. Arteta likes his ability to cover centre-back and right-back, which is especially relevant with William Saliba out after the World Cup and Timber still weeks from returning to full training. Bayer Leverkusen do not want to sell easily, and reports have put the discussion around the €50 million area before Leverkusen’s resistance is even accounted for.
A Quansah signing would obviously squeeze White’s minutes. It should.
When everybody is fit, Saliba and Gabriel remain difficult to displace centrally. Timber has become serious competition at right-back. Quansah would add another right-sided defender who can operate in both areas. White would go from near-automatic starter two years ago to a player competing across two positions.
That does not make him redundant. It makes Arsenal deep.
There is an important distinction between building succession and prematurely completing it. Quansah is 23. White is 28. Arsenal could bring in Quansah now, allow him to cover Saliba, use White heavily while Timber recovers and spend a season discovering whether Quansah is actually capable of becoming a first-choice Arsenal defender before making the next decision.
Selling White immediately after buying Quansah would remove much of the depth Arsenal were supposedly trying to acquire. One injury to Timber and Quansah is suddenly the right-back. One problem for Saliba and Quansah is suddenly required centrally. Arsenal know better than anyone what happens when theoretical defensive depth disappears by February.
There is a price at which the discussion changes. If another club offers Arsenal a major fee for a 28-year-old whose availability has declined, Berta has to listen. Sentiment cannot turn White into an untouchable asset.
But nobody watching Cardiff could reasonably conclude that Arsenal have outgrown him. City put Doku against him and got little. White stepped into midfield when Arsenal wanted him there, defended his box and looked physically ready after months of rehabilitation.
Quansah should threaten Ben White’s place. He should not trigger Ben White’s sale.
If Arsenal buy Quansah and immediately move White on, they will have spent tens of millions recreating depth they already owned.
