Although they were unable to completely unseat Manchester City in the Premier League last season, Arsenal was unquestionably the second-best side in the league.

The players on Mikel Arteta’s team, from David Raya between the sticks to Kai Havertz at the top of the pitch, were all deserving candidates for player of the year, but Ben White stood out in particular.Arsenal-Ben White Champions League 2 The Englishman earned the Player of the Month Award in March and was a constant in the squad.

However, according to recent sources, he may face competition the next season as an extremely talented defender is the most recent name being linked to a move to the Emirates.

News about Arsenal transfers Journalist Gerard Romero recently reported (via Caught Offside) that Arsenal has been in contact with the Blaugrana regarding the player and is interested in Barcelona star Jules Kounde.Les-Kounde The bad news for the Gunners is that the Catalans are reluctant to let go of the gifted defender in case they receive an extremely large offer.

Even though it would affect White’s position in the squad, it is still early in the transfer window and the North Londoners are obviously interested in the Frenchman, so it might be worthwhile to work on this move.Inside-text FFC Euros (1) How White and Kounde are similar Kounde is a versatile defender who can play as a right-back or center-back, just like White.

However, with Gabriel and William Saliba firmly established at the core of the Gunners’ elite back four, Kounde would probably be used as competition on the right.Premier League jules-kounde-barcelona So what is his relationship to the Englishman like? Well, the Arsenal player wins when looking only at output. He averaged a goal involvement every 5.66 games last season with four goals and five assists in 51 appearances, which isn’t terrible for a right-back.Premier League transfer joe gomez to Liverpool after jules Kounde On the other hand, in 48 appearances in 2023–24, the “sensational” Frenchman—dubbed so by analyst Marcus Bring—scored two goals and contributed four assists, translating to a less remarkable average of one goal every eight games. So what about their fundamental statistics? Can the former star player for Sevilla balance things out with the current state of the engine? To put it briefly, he can. White vs. Kounde Statistics for every 90 Kounde White Expected Non-Penalty Goals + Assistance 0.12 0.15 Advance Passes 6.87 5.88 Advance Carriers 1.74 1.21 Snapshots 0.66 0.51 Bullets on Target 0.22 0.18 Getting By with Accuracy 89.5 84.3 Real-time Passes 74.0 57.2 Actions That Create Shots 1.79 2.50 Actions that Set Goals 0.22 0.22 Attacks 1.19 1.38 Won’s Tackles 0.81 0.75 Interceptions 0.95 0.97 Verifications 2.86 2.11 Effective Approaches 0.52 0.29 Ball Healing 4.83 3.51 Won Aerial Duel 2.31 1.09 All Statistics for 23/24 via FBref The 25-year-old, who former manager Xavi referred to as “one of the best defenders in the world,” leads the pack in the majority of metrics, including aerial duels won, tackles won, clearances, successful take-ons, aerial passes and carries, shots and shots on target, passing accuracy, and live passes, all measured per ninety. In terms of non-penalty projected goals and assists, shot-creating actions, tackles, and interceptions per 90, the former Brighton & Hove Albion star does have an advantage over the competition, but that is about it.