England manager reveals Arsenal defender Ben White rejected national call-up

England boss Southgate has admitted that he would have called up White if he had made himself available for selection.

England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed that Arsenal defender Ben White rejected the national call-up. He made himself unavailable for selection for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium this month.

The 26-year-old scored two goals and provided four assists in 39 appearances this season. He signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal.

He joined Arsenal in 2021 and has been ever-present under Mikel Arteta. Ben White featured in all 38 Premier League games last season and missed just one of the club’s 28 Premier League matches so far this season.

England boss Southgate has admitted that he would have called up the former Brighton man if he had made himself available for selection.

White has made four appearances for the Three Lions and was part of the squad that made into the Euro 2020 final. However, he was an unused substitute throughout the tournament. He also withdrew from England’s 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar for personal reasons.

Southgate said at a press conference on Thursday, “We had a call from Edu last week saying Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at the moment. I spoke to him post-Qatar and there was reticence from his side. I don’t know why that is.

“There is no issue between us at all and there’s also no issue with Steve, which has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.

“I have to accept things are false about me, but I’m not prepared for that to happen to my coaching team. That is not the reason Ben is not with us.”

“[White] would be in this squad but he’s not available to us and I have to focus on who can help us,” Southgate added. “Clearly on form. I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in.

“It is a great shame. He is a player we took to the Euros, a player we took to the World Cup and I spoke to him post-Qatar because I wanted to pick him.

“People have given me a lot of stick for not picking players in the past who haven’t made themselves available. But I’ve always been able to keep them out of that story.

“On this occasion, because of the circumstances around the number of injuries and his decision to come off the long list I’ve got to be more transparent.”

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