Arsenal signing not in same league as Man Utd recruit, says William Gallas
Arsenal’s decision to spend £50m on headline summer signing Ben White has been questioned by William Gallas and he cannot be considered in the same bracket as Raphael Varane.
While the Gunners were sealing a deal for White from Brighton, Manchester United were working on a transfer for France defender Varane.
United had been chasing the 28-year-old on and off for several years, but finally got a deal done for around £41m including add-ons in mid-August.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew he was getting a highly experienced international, with three LaLiga titles and four Champions League wins to his name. He has also been capped 81 times by France and won the World Cup in 2018.
Conversely, Arsenal have landed White for £50m. A 23-year-old centre-back with two England caps and just one season under his belt in the top flight.
And former Gunners defender Gallas has questioned Arsenal’s decision to sign White.
“It’s difficult for me to understand why Arsenal spent £50m on one player who is yet to prove himself at the top level and at the same time Manchester United can spend around £40m on Varane who won the World Cup and has four Champions League titles,” Gallas told GentingBet, via Metro.
“He’s won the Spanish league. You have to explain to me how it’s possible. Perhaps it’s partly because Ben White is English.
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‘Varane didn’t come from Brighton’
“Listen, Varane is a different class player compared to Ben White. Ben White is still young. As I said, He hasn’t proved anything yet. How you can put a £50m price on him, you know?
“I don’t know him. I respect him and I hope he will be the great player, but he hasn’t proved anything yet. You can’t compare Ben White and Varane, I’m sorry. It’s not possible.
“And it’s not because he’s a fellow Frenchman that I’m talking like this. He comes from Real Madrid. He didn’t come from Brighton, with all respect to them.”
White had a baptism of fire on his Gunners debut as he struggled to keep Ivan Toney in check in Arsenal’s defeat at Brentford. The former Leeds loanee then contracted Covid-19.
He returned against Norwich and lined up against Burnley, where he was given a 6/10 by the Evening Standard. He almost gave away a penalty with a poor back pass and had a “real mixed bag” of a game.
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