Arsenal would be signing 'the perfect player' if they complete a transfer for Ben White this summer, according to Andros Townsend.
White has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal this summer however while the England player is on international duty no deal is likely to be announced.
Arsenal are not the only club understood to be interested in the 23-year-old with Everton believed to have offered more than £50m for his services and according to the Daily Express, Manchester City have thrown their hat into the ring.
With competition set to be fierce for the central defender, Townsend thinks he is the perfect man to shore up the Gunners backline.
"Even before he played for England, I knew Ben White was a top player," Townsend told talkSPORT.
"I’m surprised he wasn’t in the original England squad because I think he’s the perfect player that Gareth [Southgate] wants. He’s calm and composed on the ball, he can play out from the back.
"When we [Crystal Palace] played Brighton I was tasked with marking him, trying to close him down, press high up the pitch and get close to him, but I couldn’t get near him.
"He’s so composed on the ball, I was putting my best work in, trying to get close and put him under pressure, but before I could get to him he’d popped it off and they were out.
"If this deal goes over the line, I know Arsenal are getting a top player."
Emile Heskey asked Townsend if White would be the player to bring leadership to the Gunners backline but the former England international does not believe this to be the case.
"Maybe not as a leader, no,” Townsend said.
"But I know the way Mikel Arteta likes to play and Ben White, maybe not vocally but definitely technically he’d fit in perfectly with the way they want to build up from the back."
