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Arsenal defender Ben White has not been selected in England's squad for the upcoming international fixtures this September. Interim manager Lee Carsley has explained the reason for the 26-year-old's absence from the squad.
White has notably made only four appearances for England in his career. He was part of their 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar but left before the tournament started. At the time, it was revealed that he left their camp due to "personal reasons", but reports claimed he had issues with assistant manager Steve Holland.
White had also made himself unavailable for selection for Euro 2024, as former Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate revealed. The Arsenal defender has remained unavailable for a call-up, with interim boss Lee Carsley explaining (via Metro):
"As far as I’m aware with that he wasn’t available for selection, nothting’s changed in my two weeks of being here. So that’s where I’m at with him. I’ve seen in some of the press reports that he was open to [coming back] but it’s gone no further so as far as I’m aware nothing’s changed there.
"He’s always played well, but he made himself unavailable for selection, so I’m not sure where we go with that."
Time will tell if the Arsenal defender eventually returns to the Three Lions squad, especially with the World Cup coming up in 2026.
When Gareth Southgate opened up about Arsenal star Ben White's decision not to play for England
Arsenal defender Ben White has not made himself available for England selection after the 2022 World Cup. Gareth Southgate was asked about the Arsenal man ahead of Euro 2024 and he said (via Metro):
"He’s clearly playing very well and has been for a long time. But he’s not the first player who, at certain times, hasn’t wanted to be available for selection... There’s no issue between us and there was never any issue with Steve Holland.
"That has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that... That is not the reason Ben is not available for selection."
In the meantime, Ben White will focus on Arsenal and try to lead the Gunners to the Premier League title this season.
