Arsenal star not being used by Mikel Arteta is now being looked at by Manchester City

Add as preferred source on Google

Ben White is somewhat frustrated by his lack of game time at Arsenal, and is now attracting interest from Manchester City among others, Arsenal Insider understands.

The defender hasn’t started a Premier League game since the Gunners’ first match of the season away at Manchester United, and has been limited to just 292 minutes on the pitch across all competitions.

Jurrien Timber’s outstanding form is prohibiting Mikel Arteta from fielding White, who has also been struggling with his fitness over the last 12 months.

Given the calibre of the player and the fact that he’s become something of a peripheral figure at Sohba Realty, he’s unsurprisingly begun to garner interest from across Europe, including from City, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.

• READ MORE: Confirmed Arsenal summer 2025 transfer ins and outs, signings and done deals

Manchester City are ‘keeping tabs’ on Arsenal’s Ben White

Micah Richards urged people not to forget about White, who has been a mainstay in Arteta’s team in recent seasons.

The Englishman made 46 and 51 appearances for the Gunners in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons respectively, with the Spanish manager placing full trust in his £50 million signing.

However, since undergoing knee surgery this time last year, Timber has taken the right-back position in Arsenal’s team and made it his own.

The Dutchman has been imperious in every aspect of the game, and White is subsequently finding it difficult to earn any meaningful minutes.

Alarm bells were raised when Arteta selected Timber on Tuesday night in Prague, a game many felt would naturally present the tactician with an opportunity to rest the 24-year-old and grant White a run-out.

Unsurprisingly, the former Brighton man isn’t happy that he’s not playing regularly, while this situation has prompted several clubs to start monitoring the player.

Transfer expert Graeme Bailey told Arsenal Insider that City are among the list of potential suitors who could make a move for White next summer.

“Ben White, from what I’m told, he is he’s on board,” Bailey said.

“However, there is a source of frustration there, he isn’t going to spend the rest of his career sat on the bench. Let’s not beat around the bush. He’s not one who really wants to go abroad, or not to Saudi at least.

“There is a lot of interest in him on the continent from Atletico Madrid and Juventus. The other one that I’ve heard who are keeping tabs on his situation, because they think he could be a very good fit to them as a right-back is Man City. He’d probably suit their system so it makes sense.

“Arsenal are not going to mess around with this squad. As we saw previously, with the likes of [Jakub] Kiwior, Arsenal are always going to err on the side of caution.

“I’m not saying he is banging on Arteta’s door right now, but he’s aware of the situation. He’s not banging to get released but there are clubs assessing it. We know at Atletico, [Nahuel] Molina might be leaving, and they have got [Marcos] Llorente, so they do need that right back as well. I think it’s one for the summer.”

How much money could Arsenal reasonably expect to attain for Ben White?

White’s Arsenal future is far from over.

The 28-year-old can still forge his way back into the Gunners’ starting eleven, and it doesn’t have to be at the expense of Timber.

In an ideal world for Arteta, the two players share minutes, regularly rotating between games to ensure neither burn out and both are kept fresh.

For whatever reason, the manager hasn’t felt he’s been able to do this as of yet, quite possibly because of White’s fitness issues.

That said, if things don’t improve, then this is a player Arsenal could cash in on, and they could attract a significant fee for him.

White is on relatively modest wages, making it easier to move him on for a lucrative sum. The Gunners aren’t going to get the £50 million that they paid for him, given his age and injury problems, but somewhere in the vicinity of £40 million would be reasonable if the buyer is indeed City.

If the suitors come from outside of the Premier League, a fee closer to the £30 million mark is more plausible.