Ben White would jump at the prospect to hitch Liverpool from Arsenal should the Reds look to strengthen their defence within the January transfer window, in response to Danny Murphy.
The versatile defender has been a vital part within the Gunners’ development under Mikel Arteta but he has been reduced to a bit-part role over the course of the last 18 months.
A serious knee injury, allied to Jurrien Timber’s sensational form, has meant the England international has struggled for game time within the right-back role he had made his own.
White arrived at Arsenal as a centre-half and spent much of his early days on the north London club in that role, but competition for places at the center of the Gunners’ defence is as intense because it has ever been, especially following the summer arrivals of Piero Hinacpie and Cristhian Mosquera.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are certain to deal with their defensive shortcomings if not this month then come the summer.
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Ibrahima Konate’s contract is as a result of expire and the France international looks almost certain to go away on a free transfer while the long-serving Joe Gomez can also be prone to move.
The reigning champions are also yet to adequately replace Trent Alexander-Arnold with Jeremie Frimpong more suited to an attacking role and Conor Bradley struggling to take care of his fitness, even before the season ending injury he sustained last week.
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White has been linked with a move to Everton within the last 24 hours and although Arsenal are unwilling to sell, Murphy believes the player might force his club’s hand were Liverpool to register interest.
He told BoyleSports: ‘Ben White to Liverpool would make sense but Arsenal won’t need to sell to a rival.
‘It could rely on how adamant the player is that he desires to go. If Ben White was an option, I feel that might be a very good option for Liverpool.
‘I feel he’s a very good footballer, he’s an enormous lad. Yes, he’s had a few injury problems recently, but he’s an experienced guy, he’s played numerous games and he can play centre-back and right-back.
‘The plain good thing for Liverpool can be in that negotiation, if that was something that was to materialise, can be that any player would reasonably go to Liverpool than Everton, I’m not saying that because I’m a Red, I’m saying that because Liverpool are competing for the Champions League, , still in the highest 4, still within the FA Cup.
‘Whereas Everton are obviously out of the FA Cup, they’re not competing for European competitions.
‘I wouldn’t see why if Liverpool were keen, then why he wouldn’t try to force that move, having said that I’d find it strange to think that Arsenal would let him go. Or they may just think they’re too far ahead of Liverpool anyway, so we’ll must see how that plays out.’
Arteta, meanwhile, said it’s his ‘mission’ to knock Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup and deliver Arsenal’s first major trophy in almost six years after last season’s “painful” semi-final exit.
Arteta might be missing 4 defenders for the opening-leg clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera are all definitely out, while there are significant doubts over William Saliba’s fitness.
Arsenal didn’t progress to the ultimate of the Carabao Cup last yr following an emphatic 4-0 aggregate defeat by Newcastle.
They were also knocked out of the semi-finals of the Champions League and fell short within the title race too. Arteta’s sole silverware as Arsenal manager thus far stays the 2020 FA Cup.
Nonetheless, they head into Wednesday’s first leg still fighting on all 4 fronts. The Gunners are top of each the Premier League and Champions League, and thru to the fourth round of the FA Cup following their 4-1 win at Portsmouth on Sunday.
And Arteta said: ‘Football gives you one other probability. Now we have been really consistent again on this competition and now we have now to knock one other big team out to be in the ultimate. That’s the mission.
‘Hopefully we have now learned from last yr since it was painful, especially in the way that the games went, and the quantity of probabilities we missed to undergo. So this yr we wish to be higher and more efficient.
‘Whenever you get to this stage within the competition, you get to the ultimate, and also you get it over the road and win it, it brings a special form of energy.
‘It brings belief and the sense that the target could be very, very close and that could be a massive motivation for everyone.’
The absences of Calafiori, Hincapie, Mosquera and potentially Saliba on Wednesday could force Arteta to play a makeshift back 4 at Stamford Bridge with Christian Norgaard on call to play alongside Gabriel at centre-half.
Leandro Trossard, who has scored seven times this season, is one other who is probably not fit enough to play.
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