Arsenal: Ben White told to ‘sod off’ over England snub as pundit delivers ‘sunbed’ jibe
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has aimed a personal dig at Ben White, claiming the Arsenal defender doesn’t want to play for England because “he needs to spend more tine on a sunbed.”
Despite emerging as a key player for Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, White has not featured in Gareth Southgate’s plans since leaving the England party during the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar.
Although “personal reasons” were cited as the reason for White’s departure, speculation since the tournament has indicated the decision was made after the Arsenal defender had an argument with Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland.
When asked last week about White’s omission from his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, Southgate revealed White has requested to not be considered for England duty, claiming the 26-year-old has shown a “clear reticence” about being called up since Qatar 2022.
Southgate went on to deny rumours of a rift between White and Holland, calling White’s decision “a great shame.”
READ MORE: Eight players who rejected England before Benjamin White – and why they turned national team down
White has been heavily criticised in some quarters, with former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp referring to the snub as “disgusting” and an insult to the great players of England’s past.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore called White a “disgrace” who “should never be called up again.”
Appearing on talkSPORT, Jordan has become the latest pundit to criticise White, telling the Arsenal man to “sod off.”
He said: “I don’t know why the player needs to be protected [by Southgate]. He’s a big boy.
“Maybe he needs to spend more time on a sunbed, that’s why he can’t make himself available for England.
“Why are we wasting our time? He doesn’t want to play for England, move on.
“If he doesn’t want to play for England, why pick him? Why call him up? Why make him the subject of a press conference? Why feel the necessity? And also, why feel the need to insulate him?
“Gareth was very quick to suggest that there is nothing to do with Steve Holland, because that’s been doing the rounds for a long time and there has been no explanation,
“I think it’s poor. I think he’ll look back on his career in years to come and regret the fact that he didn’t play for his country, because it’s one of the greatest honours you can have, in any walk of life, to represent your country.
“If he doesn’t want to play for England, sod off. Put someone else in that does. That’s what I think.”
Jordan feels White will live to regret his decision to resist an international call up, claiming England should not “waste” their time on a player who will not emerge as a key player in the England side anyway.
He said: “Whose place would he take?
“He would be a second-string player, so in the event that Kyle Walker isn’t fit then Ben White would be our go-to solution? OK, fine. It’s not a perfect world, we don’t live in a perfect world.
“If he doesn’t want to play for his country, why waste our energy on someone that doesn’t want to play?
“You want people to bite your arm off at the shoulder to play for the country, not have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do it or have some sort of concessions or explanation made to them. He doesn’t want to play.
“Alan Shearer stopped playing at 29 years of age for England because he decided his club career was more important to him than his international career. That’s his gift, that’s his choice.
“This fella hasn’t done anything vaguely resembling in international or domestic football to the level that Alan Shearer has, so I think it’s disappointment for him.
“He’s the one that loses.”
