Gareth Southgate says England player is refusing to play for the national side

Gareth Southgate has revealed that Ben White asked NOT to be considered for the England squad ahead of this month's friendly matches.

England host Brazil and Belgium in friendly games ahead of this summer's European Championship.

And Southgate has named his 25-man squad, which includes a first senior call-up for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.

But there's no place for Arsenal's White, with Southgate revealing the reason behind his omission.

Ben White in action for England. Image: Getty

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Three Lions boss said White asked not to be considered for the squad.

"Clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in," explained Southgate.

"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."

The 53-year-old added: “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."

White, 26, has four international caps to his name after making his England debut back in 2021.

He was named in England's 2022 World Cup squad, but left the tournament for personal reasons.

White, who joined the Gunners for a fee of £50 million in 2021, penned a new four-year deal at the Emirates club today.

He's a key player under Mikel Arteta and has played 39 games across all competitions this season.