Ben White will benefit from missing out on England duty, says former Arsenal champ Lauren.
White was left out of Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man Euro 2024 squad (soon to be whittled down to 26) this week following his decision to undeclare himself for selection earlier in the year. This came after a reported clash with England assistant Steve Holland during the World Cup in 2022, which led to the Gunners defender jetting back from Qatar mid-way through the tournament.
Given his top-notch performances for Arsenal, as well as England’s current shortage of fit full-backs, the 26-year-old might have had a shot at starring for the Three Lions out in Germany if he’d buried the hatchet with the team’s hierarchy. However, as Southgate bluntly stated in Tuesday’s media briefing: “I didn’t speak to Ben, as far as I know, he’s not available to us.”
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But it’s not all doom and gloom for White, at least not according to Lauren, who reckons his absence from the national squad could actually work in his favour.
“Deciding to leave the national team, I believe this makes him [Ben White] a stronger man and player mentally,” the Cameroonian legend told Football London, via Instant Casino. “White has a great mentality,” he added. “As a player, I like his composure with the ball. He’s always calm, tries to make the right decision and the combination with [Bukayo] Saka and [William] Saliba has been great.”
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England are pretty stacked in the right-back department, but with Reece James left out of Southgate’s squad after an injury-hit season, Trent Alexander-Arnold deployed in midfield, and Kieran Trippier filling in on the left due to fitness issues with Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell, White had a decent chance to sneak back into the picture this summer.
Despite limited appearances for the national team (four in total), White’s consistently shines at Arsenal, where he has become a mainstay under Mikel Arteta. His reliability is evident, having missed only one Premier League game in the past two seasons.
Shifting focus to Arsenal’s history, Lauren epitomized excellence during his tenure as a right-back, accumulating 242 appearances over six seasons. Notably, he played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s triumphs, including winning two Premier League titles and contributing significantly to their legendary unbeaten run in the 2003/04 season.