Arteta backing Ben White to make England’s World Cup squad ahead of Brighton clash
Arsenal take on Brighton at the Emirates tomorrow night
Mikel Arteta believes Ben White still has time to earn a place in England’s World Cup squad and says Arsenal will give the defender enough chances to prove his worth before the tournament.
White has not played for England since leaving the 2022 World Cup early, officially for “personal reasons.” Reports later suggested a disagreement with then-manager Gareth Southgate and assistant Steve Holland, though Southgate always denied any fallout.
Following England’s run to the Euro 2024 final, Thomas Tuchel replaced Southgate and has revitalised the national side, winning all six World Cup qualifiers so far, scoring 18 goals and conceding none.
Tuchel has previously held positive talks with White about a return, but the 28-year-old has yet to be selected in any of his squads this year.
White’s lack of recent involvement is partly due to injury issues, limiting him to just four appearances this season, with Jurrien Timber currently preferred at right-back.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup tie with Brighton, Arteta said: “It’s still a lot of months to go and in football everything can change one way or the other and if Ben wants to do that, if Thomas believes he is the right player to do so, I’m so happy for him.
“He will have here, I’m sure, a lot of minutes, a lot of opportunities and obviously his background talks about himself in the best possible way to give him the chance to be there.
“He had a setback, and that hasn’t helped, but I think in preseason, probably, he was our best player.
“I think he played every game, and he was in great form, and we needed it because when Ben is at the level that he can show, he’s a top player for us, a player that drives the team in a different way, gives us a different threat on that flank as well, and we needed him at his best.”
Arteta confirmed William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli remain out through injury, while Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka are all fit and available.