Arsenal sign Ben White in £50m transfer from Brighton as England star is given William Saliba’s No4 shirt

BEN WHITE has completed his £50million transfer to Arsenal from Brighton.

The Gunners announced the move on Friday afternoon with an elaborate announcement video.

It came just hours after a leaked picture of the England centre-back emerged online showing the 23-year-old being presented with an Arsenal shirt by Mikel Arteta and Edu.

White has taken William Saliba's No4 shirt number with the Frenchman on loan at Marseille.

Arteta said: “Ben was a top target for us and it’s great that we’ve completed his signing.

"Ben has been educated with two very good clubs, Brighton and Leeds, in recent seasons.

"He has benefitted well from two very good coaching set-ups and has shown what a strong talent he is.

"Ben is an intelligent defender who is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and his style fits perfectly with us.

"And of course, he is still young, so his age and profile fits with what we are building here.

"We are all looking forward to Ben being central to our future long-term plans."

Arteta has been chasing a new centre-back since David Luiz left on a free at the end of June.

The Arsenal chief has already signed left-back Nuno Tavares - suggesting Kieran Tierney could be in line for more minutes on the left of a central defensive three.

The Gunners chased the Brighton and England defender for much of the summer and had a £50m bid accepted earlier this month.

White agreed personal terms but the move was delayed by his late call-up into Gareth Southgate's final England squad for Euro 2020.

An official announcement was further delayed by White's post-tournament holiday, with the defender enjoying a break in Mykonos, Greece.

But he is now back in the UK and the move was announced on Friday afternoon. He was pictured putting pen to paper alongside his agent Alex Levack.

Arsenal technical director Edu said: “Ben has been a key target this summer. He has so many qualities which make us so excited he’s joining us.

"Ben’s a young English player with a great future. He’s very strong defensively, good on the ball with a great passing range.

"We’re delighted Ben’s signed and we look forward to him growing with us.”

White will join up with his new team-mates immediately and is in contention for selection for Arsenal's Mind Series friendly at home to Chelsea on Sunday.

The defender - who is also capable of playing in midfield - bagged a spot in the Euro 2020 squad thanks to his red-hot Seagulls form last term.

That came off the back of a strong season on loan at Leeds a year earlier.

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White earned his first two England caps in the warm-up games against Austria and Romania in June.

And although he was cut from Southgate's provisional 33-man squad, the then-Seagull was given the nod to replace injured Trent Alexander-Arnold in the trimmed 26-man group.

However, White did not feature at the tournament, with John Stones, Harry Maguire and Tyrone Mings preferred by Gareth Southgate.

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