Ben White Arsenal transfer prediction made after latest injury as Mikel Arteta weighs up two replacements

Arsenal Invincible Ray Parlour has exclusively shared his Ben White transfer prediction with Sports Mole following the 28-year-old's latest injury blow.

Thanks to recent issues to William Saliba, Jurrien and Cristhian Mosquera, White belatedly won his place back in the Arsenal first XI and marked his return with a fine assist for Mikel Merino in a 2-0 Premier League victory over Brentford.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion man was making his fourth successive start in all competitions in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he cruelly tweaked his hamstring when sprinting back to chase Hwang Hee-chan and was substituted in the 31st minute.

Reports have now claimed that White now faces a month on the sidelines, a bitter blow for a player who missed 27 games last season and was just starting to get some rhythm back into his legs again.

While Parlour cannot envisage any scenario that sees White depart in January, the former England international would not be totally shocked to see the versatile defender head for the exit door during the summer transfer window.

Ray Parlour makes Ben White Arsenal transfer prediction after latest injury

“Mikel's probably got two for every position, so it's all about the player," Parlour said. "It’s a really good unit at the moment - they're all trying to help each other. But at some stage in your career, you want to be playing week in, week out.

“And whether Ben is looking at his career going, ‘well, I’m 28 now, do I want to play every single week?’ Sometimes managers can't stand in your way. Mikel has been a player himself, he knows exactly that you can get frustrated if you're not playing week in, week out.

“But you've still got to be professional, work hard in training and wait for your chance. I feel sorry for Ben, because he did wait a long, long period to get a chance, he played really well, and now he's picked up another injury.

“So it's all about balancing books as well – if you're bringing players in like they have done, you've got to balance it the other way. I’m sure he won't be going anywhere while he's injured in that January window, but maybe at the end of the season, he moves on. But if he doesn't move on, I'm sure he'll give everything in that Arsenal shirt.”

White remains under contract at Arsenal until 2028 and has registered six goals and 13 assists in 171 matches for the Gunners since joining in a £50m deal from Brighton in the summer of 2021.

How can Arsenal replace Ben White amid Jurrien Timber concerns?

On face value, White's latest injury is not so problematic thanks to Timber's recovery from a recent knock, but the Dutchman has barely been allowed to rest this season given Mikel Arteta's significant selection issues in defence.

Among all Arsenal outfield players, only Declan Rice (1,744) and Martin Zubimendi (1,757) have played more minutes than Timber in the current season, and the former Ajax man - who memorably tore his ACL on the opening day of the 2023-24 campaign - cannot be expected to start every game during White's absence.

Arteta can no longer call upon emergency option Thomas Partey to fill the void, so he may have little choice but to hand minutes to 19-year-old academy product Joshua Nichols, who was on the bench for last week's Champions League win against Club Brugge.

Sixteen-year-old Marli Ellis Salmon - who made his professional debut in the same game - has also been mentioned as a potential option, having occasionally featured at right-back for the Under-18s since 2024.

Whether Nichols and Salmon are trusted to start matches is another question entirely, but there is nothing to suggest that they cannot be introduced for Timber in the second half of games that Arsenal are winning comfortably.

Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Online Casino.