England coach Gareth Southgate has announced his squad for the international match period with friendlies against Brazil (March 23) and Belgium (March 26). Ben White from Arsenal FC is surprisingly missing from the squad. The national coach explained that he would have liked to call up the Gunners defender.
“We got a call last week from Edu (Arsenal FC’s sporting director; editor’s note) who said that Ben doesn’t want to be considered for the squad at the moment. That’s a real shame for me,” Southgate revealed on Thursday the press conference: “He would be in the squad, but he is not available to us.”
White was “clearly in good form,” the 53-year-old praised the central defender, who reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League with Arsenal against FC Porto (1-0, 4-2 on Tuesday).
White was last in the Three Lions squad during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was not used in the first two games against Iran (6:2) and the USA (0:0). According to English media reports, there was an argument with assistant coach Steve Holland during a training session. Southgate denies this. White then left the England national team due to “personal matters,” the association said.
“There are no problems between us at all and I should also say that there is no problem with Steve Holland because that has been mentioned in some articles and I don’t like that. The door is wide open,” Southgate said.
The England coach is currently missing three other right-backs due to injury: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Reece James (Chelsea FC) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool FC). Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, midfielder Declan Rice and winger Bukayo Saka were also nominated. Real star Jude Bellingham and Bayern striker Harry Kane are also there.
Just hours before the England squad was released, Arsenal announced that it had extended White’s contract until 2028. The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League, level on points with Liverpool. The 26-year-old moved to North London from Brighton and Hove Albion for 58.5 million euros in 2021.
2024-03-14 17:14:01
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