Arsenal star rejects international call-up like Ben White to hand Mikel Arteta major boost

An Arsenal star has followed Ben White in rejecting an international call up to give Mikel Arteta a huge boost.

Last week Gareth Southgate announced his squad for England's upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, and there was one notable absentee.

Ben White was not included in the squad, not because Southgate didn't want to select him but because the Arsenal defender made himself unavailable for selection.

Southgate explained: "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."

Hours before Southgate revealed his squad, Arsenal announced that White had signed a new contract with the Gunners.

Now that the dust has started to settle, another Arsenal star has rejected an international call-up.

Midfielder Thomas Partey has turned down a call-up from Ghana for the upcoming international break.

According to journalist Charles Watts, the 30-year-old asked to be excused from the squad so that he can focus on regaining fitness after recently returning from injury.

Getty)

Partey, who joined Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in 2020, has made just seven appearances this season after suffering groin and hamstring injuries.

He returned to action earlier this month after missing over four months with the hamstring issue.

While it can't be said that Arsenal have particularly missed Partey this season - Mikel Arteta's side are currently top of the Premier League table - his return in time for the title run-in could potentially be invaluable.

With a Champions League quarter-final showdown with Bayern Munich next month to juggle with league fixtures, the more options Arteta has the better.