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Ben White has been recalled to the England squad but owes nothing to his critics demanding an explanation for the Arsenal man's exit from the group under Gareth Southgate
Ben White owes no one an explanation after making his return to the England setup. There is this odd discussion that playing for your country in the sport of football is in some way comparable to being part of the armed forces; last time I checked, the Arsenal full-back is not going to war.
At least not in a literal sense. He might be going into a few battles for the aptly named Gunners, but these are more so 50-50s rather than any skirmish. The idea that white ‘turned his back on his country’ when he left the England squad is both presumptuous and needlessly provocative.
Reports came out claiming that the defender had fallen out with Gareth Southgate’s assistant coach, Steve Holland. In 2025, Mikel Arteta was asked about the subject and went as far as to describe White as being “very brave”.
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"From what I understand, the reasons, it wasn't about letting somebody down,” he said.
“He was just telling somebody, 'I don't want to let you down, and this is the way I feel, I think it's very difficult for me to give you what you need'. So I think it was completely different.
“I can tell you because I was very involved in the moment that that happened, and I know how Ben felt, and that was for me very, very clear the reason why he made that decision, how he was feeling about it and how he was struggling.
"It was about just facing the situation and saying: 'I cannot handle it now, and I am not the best person to represent the country the way I feel right now'. I think not a lot of people would do it.
“What he did, in my opinion, was very brave and not a lot of people would have done it. Whatever the outcome is, what I want is Ben to be happy and that he feels fulfilled.”
As Arteta explained, he was very involved in the process and has been happy to share details of the situation, which, in the case of the Arsenal manager, is rather out of character, preferring to keep insights behind closed doors. Granted, it will in part be to protect White, certainly, but from what has been explained, at face value, it appears reasonable that White made himself available only after a change in regime at the England national team.
Thomas Tuchel’s decision to call up White over the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold is what has perhaps raised eyebrows. The German has put an emphasis on having faith in full-backs who he believes offer enough defensively, which White has consistently done when available for Arsenal and did so just last weekend, locking down Jeremy Doku in the League Cup final.
Some seem to struggle with this and are jumping in to demand explanations from White or to criticise his decision. Why not defer to the man himself?
Here are the words of White speaking after being called up for the postponed 2020 European Championships. Do these sound like the words of someone who would so easily make the decision to step away from the opportunity of representing England?
"I got a phone call, got told the news,” White told Sky Sports. “I was out for dinner, I didn't really believe it!
"Yeah, I just sat and cried for about an hour. I couldn't really believe it and I don't think it's settled in yet. I didn't really think that I would be called.
"I thought it was a bit too late because I've heard you get called way before it. But I obviously didn't, and when that call did come, I was over the moon with it and shocked."
A man in tears at the news of this most honourable moment in his career to date. The words of someone who understands entirely the pride that is contained in representing the Three Lions.
I, for one, welcome White’s return and cannot wait to see if he can break into the summer squad in what would be one of the biggest shocks. Having covered his career at Arsenal, he’s an individual who is greatly liked at the club and is appreciated for the lengths he is willing to go to give his all for whichever shirt he is set to pull on.
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