Arsenal stars send Ben White messages of support as defender breaks silence amid England snub
Ben White received a flurry of messages from his Arsenal teammates following on from his England snub.
On Thursday, after announcing his latest squad, Gareth Southgate claimed that White "didn't want to be considered" for an England call-up.
The former Brighton defender made his England debut in 2021 and was part of the World Cup squad but left the squad early for "personal reasons".
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White hasn't featured since and Southgate revealed that Arsenal's sporting director Edu communicated White's stance to him and FA technical director John McDermott.
The 26-year-old was therefore not included in the squad for games against Belgium and Brazil, with Jarrod Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon both getting their first call-ups.
On the same day it emerged that White had refused a call-up, he penned a new contract with Arsenal.
The Gunners announced they had tied him down until 2028 in a contract extension video which featured many of his colleagues.
Reacting to the news, White took to Instagram to share a picture of him putting pen to paper, complete with the caption: "Couldn’t be more grateful. Home @arsenal."
And messages of support from his club colleagues poured in.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, who White had a heated bust-up with, wrote: "Well deserved bro".
William Saliba commented a slew of loveheart eyes, while Declan Rice said "Your [sic] the man" and Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Magalhaes added emojis.
According to a detailed report from The Athletic, there are three key reasons as to why White does not want to play for his country.
He is said to have found it difficulty having other players ahead of him, as well as having a row with assistant Steve Holland - despite Southgate denying such an argument occurred.
Finally, White is also believed to have struggled with international football and life at tournaments.
Southgate has said he wants the door to be "wide open" despite the reticence from White.
Josh Lawless