England coach Southgate explains snub for Arsenal defender White

Football
17 Mar 2023 • 6:48 AM MYT
Tribal Football
Tribal Football

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England coach Gareth Southgate has snubbed Arsenal defender Ben White for his latest squad selection.

Arsenal star White and Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling were both left out for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.

White has had a fine season for Premier League leaders Arsenal and was rewarded with a call-up to the squad in Qatar.

However, he left the tournament early due to personal reasons. Reports afterwards claimed the former Brighton defender had a disagreement with assistant coach Steve Holland, though Southgate played down that speculation at the time.

Southgate has hinted his decision to leave the 25-year-old out of his squad today is due to football reasons. Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James are all included in the squad, with Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold missing out alongside White.

Asked why the Sterling and White in particular weren't in the squad, Southgate said: "Yeah well Raheem's not fit, so that's that one. Yeah [I would have picked him if fit] absolutely.

"With Ben, it's similar with Ben and Trent really. The three boys that are in as right full-backs, we've got them as just ahead of those two. We are blessed in that position with the depth of talent.

"It's the hardest position to pick, albeit it's never straightforward criteria and it's always shifting around a little bit on form as well. Kyle and Tripps are obviously the ones that played during the World Cup, started the games during the World Cup, have been consistent.

"And Reece coming back is another top player. So yeah we'd love to have that depth in every position on the field really."