The Premier League winter break could not have come at a better time for Arsenal this season, as despite spending Christmas Day in first place, losses to West Ham United and Fulham have seen them drop down to fourth.
Worse yet, their defeat to Liverpool last week also saw them ejected from the FA Cup in the third round, and while the attack’s inability to finish their chances has taken most of the blame, there is another area of the team that hasn’t reached the same highs of last year – right-back.
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Ben White was spectacular for the Gunners last season, but so far this term, he has been underwhelming, and with the latest piece of transfer news, his place in the team could now be under threat, as the north Londoners have been linked with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong.
Arsenal transfer news – Jeremie Frimpong
According to a report last week from the German publication BILD, Arsenal are interested in and currently ‘chasing’ Leverkusen’s exciting young full-back, Frimpong.
The report also reveals that he will be allowed to leave the Bundesliga outfit in 2024 for a ‘fixed’ fee of €40m, which is about £34m.
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While the fee is very much attainable for Arsenal, the much more significant barrier to them completing this deal is the reported interest of Manchester United. However, it does seem that the Gunners are leading this particular race at the moment.
While the relatively modest fee will come as music to the ears of Arsenal’s higher-ups, it might just make White sweat if his performances don’t improve.
Jeremie Frimpong could be the perfect upgrade for Ben White
As mentioned earlier, White was an instrumental part of Arsenal’s impressive title charge last season, so while he has been well below par this season, there is still clearly a talented player in there.
That said, compared to Frimpong, whom talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed “one of the best wing-backs in Europe”, things don’t look great for the Englishman’s position at the club.
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The first thing to note is that at the halfway point of the season, the former Brighton & Hove Albion man has just a single goal and one assist to his name in the league.
In contrast, the young Dutchman has scored five goals and notched up six assists in just 16 league starts – and he was just as deadly last season.
The case for the former Celtic prospect grows even more substantial when comparing their underlying numbers.
In almost all attacking metrics aside from progressive passing, the Leverkusen star has his potential new teammate beaten. He creates a significantly higher non-penalty expected goals and assists figure, hits the target more often and produces over twice as many goal-creating actions per 90.
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