KEY POINTS

  • Arsenal has reportedly sealed the deal with Brighton for Ben White
  • The Gunners are determined to cop their first league title in 18 seasons
  • White is seen as a big boost in Mikel Arteta's campaign next season

The English Premier League has not been kind to Arsenal.

Despite their best efforts, the club has failed to reach the top of the table since their 90-point finish during the 2003-04 season.

Arsenal has been close to breaking through in recent years but just couldn’t find consistency throughout the seasons--with their best finish coming in second place last 2015-16.

However, the club is looking to make a run back to the league title after waiting for almost two decades.

To that end, Arsenal made sure to keep their future intact by signing Emile Smith Rowe to a five-year contract, with the rest of the details unknown as it is club policy to not release the specific details of a contract to the public.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had nothing but nice words for the England Under-21 national team player plus the club gifted Smith Rowe with Mesut Ozil’s coveted No. 10 jersey.

They have been relatively active in the summer transfer market, but without the capital that their English Premier League counterparts have, they’ve since had to play it smart and look for under-the-radar signings.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all had great and varying success during this transfer window as they have hit most of their transfer targets.

For Arsenal, they’ve recently come to terms with Brighton center-back Ben White for £50 million ($69.4 million), according to transfer wizard Fabrizio Romano.

For Arsenal fans unfamiliar with White, he brings a versatile game to the backfield, which they’re going to need since David Luiz has departed from the club.

He ranks in the Top 10 of interceptions in the Premier League during last season with 62, and Gabriel was Arsenal’s best player at reading the defense and taking the ball away before the play materializes.

Raphael Varane’s signing with Manchester United for just £41 million ($57 million) makes Arsenal signing White look like an overpay.

The difference is that Varane wanted out of Real Madrid to face new challenges elsewhere, while White was valued highly by his club plus there were little to no confirmed indicators of him wanting to leave.

Arsenal is still a few pieces away from competing for a league title, and that may not come until the following season.

But Gunners fans can trust that the club will be making more moves in the future.

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