Ben Foster baffled to see Ben White left out of latest England squad

By Jordan Harris

Ben Foster has told his YouTube channel that he reckons that something serious must have happened behind the scenes after Ben White missed out on the latest England squad despite his recent superb form for Arsenal.

White has been a revelation for Mikel Arteta’s men this season. He was moved out to right-back at the start of the campaign after playing alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back last term.

There may have been concerns about how the 25-year-old would fare on the right given that that was not a position that he was overly familiar with.

Ben Foster baffled after Ben White omission from England squad

However, White has been absolutely outstanding for the Gunners. And he arguably produced one of his best displays of the campaign on Sunday as Arsenal thrashed Crystal Palace at the Emirates.

That performance came just after it was announced that White would not be in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad for this international break.

Of course, White left the group early during the World Cup.

No reasons for that departure have been confirmed. But Foster believes that that situation must be having a lasting impact as there is little other reason why White would not get a call-up this time around.

“There’s something gone on there, for sure, because every week he’s doing it now,” he told his YouTube channel. “And he’s even getting involved in goals, he’s getting involved in assists for fun, playing really, really well. Arsenal are on fire. These are the sorts of players that when you’re naming your England squad, you should be picking these players in form.

“There’s definitely something gone on there because that’s just not right. When he’s selecting the old school, the normal ones that haven’t really been playing week-in, week-out, Maguire, those sorts of players, then it screams of a little bit of a fall-out.”

On current form, Arsenal star simply has to be included

On current form, it is simply impossible to argue that White does not deserve a place in the squad. He has been superb for the team which leads the Premier League table by eight points.

England are strong at right-back. The likes of Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier remain amongst the best in the league. Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold is nowhere to be seen.

But White is naturally a centre-back. And, as Foster notes, Maguire is in the squad. Eric Dier and Marc Guehi is in the squad.

And none of those three can argue that they have been in White’s league this season.

Of course, we have no right to know what exactly went on at the World Cup. But knowing the facts would perhaps help everyone make some sense of the decision Gareth Southgate has come to.