Fans have been showing their displeasure on social media after Gareth Southgate included Manchester United captain Harry Maguire in his latest England squad.
Southgate named his 28 man squad on Thursday afternoon ahead of England’s Nations League matches against Italy and Germany.
The squad included the likes of Maguire, Luke Shaw and Trent Alexander Arnold. The mentioned trio has been under intense scrutiny for their struggles amid United and Liverpool’s turbulent starts to the season.
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Maguire’s inclusion has come as a shock for many fans, especially Arsenal fans who felt Benjamin White was more deserving of a place in the squad after Arsenal’s promising start to the Premier League campaign.
Gunners fans have been taking to social media to question Southgate’s decision.
One fan said: “We need to have an honest conversation on why Eric Dier, Coady, Maguire and Guehi made the England squad list and Ben White can't be found anywhere even tho he's been better than all those four players.”
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Another tweeted: “Benjamin White has been the best english defender in the league this season. If Southgate thinks Maguire and Cody deserve a call up ahead of Ben, he is on his own.”
A third fan added: “Ben White is not included in the England squad, but Harry Maguire is? Make it make sense.”
Another Arsenal fan said: “I'm pleased White won't be at risk of an injury with England, but how the hell are Maguire and Coady getting in over him? Mental. Absolutely mental.”
Southgate spoke about picking players that haven’t been playing as much as the others.
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The England manager said: "Clearly, we have a number of players including Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips who are not playing a lot of minutes with their club.
“It is not ideal, but we feel they have been, and can be, important players for us. It is not a perfect situation but there is still a lot of football to be played before Qatar.”
This is Southgate’s last England squad before he has to finalise his World Cup squad for the tournament in Qatar, which is set to get underway in November.
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England’s first game of the tournament will be against Iran.
Topics: Harry Maguire, Gareth Southgate, England, Manchester United, Ben White, Arsenal
Marcus Chan