Arsenal’s £190m outlay highlights disastrous seven-year bid to fix defence
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Arsenal finally confirmed Ben White's £50m blockbuster transfer from Brighton on Thursday.
The 23-year-old centre-half has been signed by boss Mikel Arteta to bolster the Gunners defence as he seeks to steer the club back towards European football.
White had an excellent debut season in the Premier League for Brighton last term, earning the Poole-born ace a well-deserved England call-up for Euro 2020.
The central defensive area has been a headache for Arsenal down the years – and they've spent big bucks trying to rectify it.
White's £50m switch brings their outlay on central defenders to a staggering £190m over the past seven years.
For that eye-watering amount, 11 defenders, including White, have come through the doors at the Emirates to try and shore up Arsenal's backline.
The vast majority of them have since departed for pastures new.
The likes of Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz departed the Gunners this year after disappointing spells at the club.
Mustafi was signed for around £35m from Valencia back in 2014, whilst Luiz demanded a more modest fee of £8m from Premier League rivals Chelsea.
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Both spent a number of years at the club, but neither fully convinced at the heart of the defence.
The same could be said for Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who arrived for a fee of £17.7m from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
The Greek international had his contract terminated early by mutual consent after an uninspiring spell in London.
Gabriel Paulista, signed for a fee in excess of £10m in 2015, is also no longer at the club.
Not all of the club's defensive experiments have departed the Emirates though.
Last summer, the Gunners signed two central defenders.
Gabriel Magalhães arrived from Lille in a £27m deal whilst Pablo Mari's loan deal was turned into a permanent switch for a figure of £14m.
Gabriel looks the most likely candidate to partner White on a regular basis after a strong maiden season in England.
Back in 2019, Arsenal splashed out a huge £27m fee on teenage French defender William Saliba.
Despite commanding such a hefty fee, the youngster has struggled for regular minutes under Arteta.
He's currently out on loan in France with Marseille- much to the bewilderment of Gunners fans.
Konstantinos Mavropanos is another signing who has been loaned elsewhere, with the £2.2m signing spending last season with Stuttgart.
The Gunners have also shelled out £14m on Calum Chambers and £2m for Rob Holding, who are both set to compete with White and Gabriel for a starting slot this season.
Regardless of who gets the nod alongside him, Arteta will be hoping that sealing White's signature will allow him to invest in other areas in the future rather than needing to perform further defensive surgery.
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