Southgate accused of ‘lying’ about Arsenal, England star White: ‘He was being targeted and mocked’

Gareth Southgate ‘basically lied’ about Benjamin White’s absence from the England squad, claims former Premier League striker Darren Bent.

The Arsenal right-back has not played for his country since March 2022 and has four caps in total, all under Southgate in friendly matches.

He was included in the 2022 World Cup squad but left Qatar due to a personal matter after being an unused substitute in the Three Lions’ opening two group games.

It later emerged that White fell out with Southgate’s assist, Steve Holland, who reportedly claimed the 27-year-old ‘is not sufficiently interested in football’.

White could return to the team following Southgate’s exit but was not called up by Lee Carsley for any of his three camps in charge.

Thomas Tuchel will take over in 2025 and might revert to his three-at-the-back system, which would be perfect for the Arsenal star as one of the three centre-backs.

Nobody seems to know if he has made himself available for international duty but he is already doubtful for the next international break in March after undergoing surgery earlier this month.

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Southgate claimed that there was nothing to White’s exodus and Arsenal fan Bent is not having it, claiming the ex-England boss has “lied” about the situation.

“If Ben White has made himself eligible for an international call up that tells me he never had an issue with playing for England,” he told talkSPORT.

“I’m pretty sure he always wanted to play for England but had a problem with Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland.

“Some fans might not see it and they’ll say ‘Just get on with it, you’re playing for England’ but you have to be comfortable within a working environment.

“If Ben White felt every time he went there he was being targeted, kind of mocked in front of the rest of his teammates and he felt uncomfortable then he should have the option as a human being to say ‘I don’t want to put myself in that situation so I’ll take myself out’.

“As soon as they’ve gone if he’s saying that he wants to be selected for England, that tells me that it’s never been about playing for his country.

“I’m sure if you sat him down and asked him he’d say representing his country is the highest honour you can get.

“But the fact that Southgate came out and lied basically, saying that nothing happened – be honest.

“Say that ‘we’ve had a bit of a falling out and he’s opted not to come back’ then it would be fair enough, but he’s almost tried to put it on Ben White and said ‘blame him, not me’ and that’s not really fair in my eyes.

“He’s done a lot of good for England in uniting the players, the press and the fans but just be honest about it, don’t put it all on Ben.”

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White has previously revealed his pride in being called up for England, so it’s not like he doesn’t want to play for them or simply can’t be arsed.

Speaking after his first call up in 2021, White said: “I got a phone call, got told the news, I was out for dinner, I didn’t really believe it!

“Obviously speaking to Dan (Ashworth), he told me all the news, when I was going, it was obviously unbelievable.

“I put the phone down, rang my mum straight away, sat down there, cried, mum was crying, mum, my dad, had all my sisters there and, yeah, I just sat and cried for about an hour.

“I coudn’t really believe it and I don’t think it’s settled in yet.

“I didn’t really think that I would be called, I thought it was a bit too late because I’ve heard you get called way before it.

“But I obviously didn’t and when that call did come I was over the moon with it and shocked really.

“No pressure, I’ve got to go what I’ve got to do, do my best and if I get game time, I’ve got to produce my quality and show what I’ve got.”