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Arsenal's Ben White 'approached by England boss Southgate' as World Cup mystery remains
Ben White has had a stellar season for Arsenal and could be in line for a return to the England squad.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reviews the Nottingham Forest game
England boss Gareth Southgate has reportedly approached Arsenal star Ben White over a potential recall to the national team, having left the camp during the World Cup before the Three Lions' exit to France at the quarter-final stage in Qatar. The defender has been outstanding for the Gunners in their Premier League title charge, as Southgate clearly has not closed the door on White's international future.
The Daily Mail claim that White has been sounded out by Southgate over returning to the fray. He left the England camp midway through the World Cup with personal reasons cited as the reason, though no official explanation has been given by either the player or the Football Association for his departure.
Arsenal at the time posted: "We're all with you Ben." Now, Southgate is set to name his squad for June's Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia on Wednesday and he is said to have approached White to understand if he is open to joining up with the squad.
Kyle Walker is expected to be rested as Manchester City look to go deep into the season and complete the treble, while fellow right-backs Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold are injured and playing in midfield respectively.
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White was not called up to the squad for March's games against Italy and Ukraine, further prompting questions over his international future, but Southgate was clear that despite his absence - the door was not shut on White turning out for his country again.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Southgate said in March. “We like him. We’re interested to see whether at some point he ends up back at centre-back as well, because he’s got some really good attributes within that.”
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After leaving the England camp on November 30 following their victory over Wales in the group stages, White was met with messages of support by his club and team-mates while Southgate refused to comment further on the decision for him to leave Qatar.
When asked if he could elaborate further on the reasons, amid claims he fell out with a manager of the coaching staff, Southgate replied: “Well, not really. What I’ve been shown was alleged and there was another word that was used.
“I think by commenting on the story I could be giving it any form of credibility, really. We explained why Ben left the camp and I think it’s important that that is respected, really.”