Ben White photographed Arsenal playing against Bayern Munich. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Darren Bent has accused Gareth Southgate of “lying” over Ben White’s withdrawal from England duties.
White made his Three Lions debut in 2021 but has just four senior caps to date.
This is because the arsenal The defender has been sidelined for the Three Lions since declaring himself unavailable for selection after returning home from England’s Qatar 2022 World Cup camp.
It is thought that White, who is he is currently on leave for three months after undergoing knee surgery, he fell out with assistant manager Steve Holland, while Southgate said he had been asked to keep the defender out of future England squads.
White has not featured for England since, but with Thomas Tuchel set to take over as Gareth Southgate’s permanent replacement, following an interim spell under Lee Carsley, there are rumors he could make a U-turn.
Southgate accused of ‘lying’ about Arsenal star Ben White
Former England striker Bent believes that White’s desire to return to the international scene is enough to suggest that he was not the problem at all and that former manager Southgate may have been dishonest in his statements about the situation.
“If Ben White has become eligible for an international call-up tell me he never had any problem playing for England,” Bent said. talkSPORT.
“I’m pretty sure he always wanted to play for England but he had a problem with Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland.
“Some fans might not see it and say, ‘Just get on with it, you’re playing for England’, but you have to be comfortable in a working environment.
“If Ben White felt that every time he went there he was being targeted, a bit teased in front of the rest of his teammates and he felt uncomfortable, then he should have the choice as a human being to say, ‘I don’t want to put myself in this situation so I will get out’.
“As soon as they’ve left, if he says he wants to be selected for England, that tells me he’s never considered playing for his country.
“I’m sure if you sat him down and asked him he’d say representing his country is the highest honor you can get.
“But the fact that Southgate came out and basically lied, saying nothing happened, be honest.
“Say ‘we’ve had a bit of a fight and he’s chosen not to come back’ then that would be fair enough but he’s almost tried to put it on Ben White and said ‘blame him not me’ and that’s no it’s really fair in my eyes.
“He has done very well in England by uniting the players, the press and the fans, but be honest about it, don’t put it all on Ben.”
