Gareth Southgate reveals Ben White asked to be left out of England squad and he doesn’t know why

England boss Gareth Southgate revealed Arsenal called him to insist Ben White did not want to be in the latest squad.

Gunners star White was once again a glaring omission from Southgate’s squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

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Ben White is not in the England squad this month

The versatile defender has been in brilliant form for the Premier League leaders – but Southgate has revealed why players such as Joe Gomez and Jarrad Branthwaite were selected instead.

He said: “We had a call from [Arsenal’s sporting director] 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, but I respect that. I leave the door open because he’s a good player.

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“There is no issue between us at all and there’s also no issue with [assistant manager] Steve Holland, 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.”

Speaking about Everton star Branthwaite, Southgate said: “He’s played consistently well.

“We watched him as a back-up centre-half for the under-21s. If you said a year ago he would consistently play in the Premier League, I would have been surprised.

“Credit to [Everton manager] Sean Dyche. He’s in on merit. We’re looking forward to having a look at him.”

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White has just four caps to his name for EnglandCredit: Getty

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England said White left their World Cup squad for ‘personal reasons’ in 2022Credit: Getty

White was part of the England squad that travelled to Qatar in 2022 for the World Cup but left days in due to personal reasons.

The Arsenal star, who signed a new contract with the Gunners on Thursday, has not been called up by England since.

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Southgate has continually denied rumours of a rift between White and his coaching staff.

The Three Lions boss has also insisted that the former Brighton star is more of a centre-back than a full-back, despite starring at right-back for Arsenal this season.

And Southgate is happy with his centre-back selections, with Harry Maguire and John Stones firmly first-choice.

The England manager did make some surprise calls to his squad this week, though, with Gomez recalled to the team after enjoying a fine spell with Liverpool.

“It’s firstly great to see him playing regularly at Liverpool and he’s such a lovely boy, I’ve known him since the under-17s won in Malta when he was at Charlton,” Southgate added.

“We love working with Joe, we’re delighted to see him back playing and we look forward to seeing him next week.”

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Gomez is back in the England squad having not played for the Three Lions since 2020Credit: Getty

When asked if there is no way back for White, Southgate insisted: “I want that door wide open. He would be in this squad, but he’s not available to us.”

White has four caps for England and was part of the Euros squad last time in 2021 when the Three Lions reached the final.

However, the defender remained an unused substitute throughout the tournament.