Holland ‘turned his anger’ on White during ‘row’; report reveals ‘truth’ on Arsenal star’s England snub
According to a report from The Athletic, Arsenal star Ben White’s issues with England started because he ‘found it difficult being out of the side’.
The latest England squad was announced on Thursday afternoon and it did not include White, despite him being in great form for Premier League leaders Arsenal.
“Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time…”
The defender was sent home early from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for “personal reasons” but it later emerged that he had a bust-up with Gareth Soithgate’s assistant, Steve Holland.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Southgate confirmed that White had asked not to be considered for selection.
He said: “Clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in.
“We, John McDermott and I, had a call from Edu (Arsenal sporing director) last week (and he) said Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time.
“For me that is a great shame. He is a player we took to the Euros, a player we took to the World Cup and I spoke to him post-Qatar because I wanted to pick him.
“He is not available to us and there is no issue between us at all and I also should say there is never any issue with (coach) Steve Holland because that has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.
“I want that door wide open. He would be in this squad but he’s not available to us and I have to focus on who can help us.”
READ MORE: Eight players who rejected England before Benjamin White – and why they turned national team down
‘White had found it difficult being out of the side…’
A report from The Athletic claims Holland’s issues with White were kickstarted by him having issues with ‘being out of the side’. The piece by journalists Daniel Taylor and Jack Pitt-Brooke explains.
‘The truth is that White had found it difficult being out of the side, not even necessarily the second-choice for his position, and struggling to settle in the kind of environment, a long way from home, that once led Steven Gerrard to describe tournament life with England as a “five-star prison”.
‘There was a row with Steve Holland, England’s assistant manager, when White was on the receiving end of a verbal dressing-down from Southgate’s right-hand man. But White was already finding it difficult to conform to life, in the vernacular of international football, as a “good traveller”. That, in short, is exactly why Holland turned his anger on him.’
The Athletic have also revealed that Holland felt White was not taking a team meeting ‘seriously enough’.
‘White was on the fringes again in the World Cup, watching England’s group games against Iran and the U.S. as an unused substitute and missing out against Wales due to illness. There were some difficult moments in the build-up to the U.S. match.
‘England’s coaching staff liked to pass on detailed notes to the players about their data from training and matches, as well as tactical information about the opposition. At one meeting, Holland did not appear to think White was taking it seriously enough and there was an angry exchange in front of the other players that created a lot of discussion within England’s camp.
‘It is also worth pointing out there was nearly a full week between that scene and the decision being taken, on both sides, that White should head home.’
