Gareth Southgate has made his decision over whether Ben White will be in the England squad today
Gareth Southgate has decided not to put Arsenal defender Ben White in the England squad which will be announced today.
White came home early from the World Cup last year, and Southgate is picking his first Three Lions squad since that quarter-final exit to France.
The Mirror report that White, 25, is not due to be called up, with Fikayo Tomori in line for a recall instead.
That is despite his starring role in Arsenal’s rise to the top of the Premier League, from his position at right-back.
Gareth Southgate has decided not to pick Ben White for England squad
England do not have too many elite central defensive options, and if White played in one of those roles, perhaps his outlook would be different.
But Southgate has already struggled to fit Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James into his squads in the past.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is now back and playing well for Manchester United too, but White is performing as well as any right-back in the division.
If the report is true, and White has been left out, it seems almost certain that Southgate will be asked about him at the press conference which accompanies the squad announcement.
It will be interesting to see what Southgate says, and whether any more light is shed on the exact reasons White came home from Qatar.
From an Arsenal perspective, it means a key player would get two weeks to rest and recuperate going into the business end of the season, which is hardly a bad thing.
