"Definitely the big club bias is there" - Agbonlahor says Aston Villa star deserved place ahead of Arsenal player in the current England squad
Former England international Gabriel Agbonlahor has stated that Aston Villa skipper Tyrone Mings deserves a place in the England squad ahead of Arsenal defender Ben White.
Gareth Southgate picked a 27-strong England squad for the UEFA Nations League, where the Three Lions will take on Hungary twice, along with Germany and Italy.
Tyrone Mings was snubbed by Southgate as he picked six central defenders Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori and Ben White.
White was eventually withdrawn from the squad on Monday with an injury and will instead continue his rehabilitation back at his club as seen in England Football.
Gabby Agbonlahor has suggested that the Arsenal defender should not have been called up to the 27-man squad in the first place.
Speedy recovery, @ben6white! 👊
The former Aston Villa striker has insisted that big club bias is still pretty much evident.
Agbonlahor felt it was calamitous to see White being picked over Mings for the upcoming matches after a poor penultimate league game against Newcastle United. He told Football Insider:
“He got into the England squad before Tyrone Mings this time which I think is a disaster. That Newcastle game he was dreadful because Arsenal are a bigger club than Aston Villa in some people’s eyes that’s why he got in. Definitely the big club bias is still there.”
Performance-wise, the Gunners fared much better than the Villans, finishing in fifth place against Villa's 14th-placed finish. Defensively, however, the former conceded just six goals less (48) than Steven Gerrard's side.
Was Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings more deserving for a place in the England side than Arsenal's Ben White?
To be fair, neither Tyrone Mings nor Ben White have had spectacular seasons this time out.
England have a plethora of options across all positions, making Gareth Southgate's job to pick his squad incredibly difficult.
Ben White had a mixed debut season at Arsemal following his big move from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer. He played a part in 32 league games, clocking 2880 minutes.
The Arsenal defender has caught the eye with his ball-playing ability but has often struggled defensively, particularly in the latter stages of the campaign.
Newcastle are ready to make a £30million bid for Tyrone Mings after Aston Villa pinched long-term target Diego Carlos from under their noses [Express] #NUFC
Mings, on the other hand, has also endured a mixed season at Aston Villa with Steven Gerrard already bringing in competition for the Englishman. He made 36 Premier League appearances. clocking 3188 minutes of action.
The Lions have already signed Diego Carlos from Sevilla. Mings has been widely linked with a move away with Newcastle United tipped as the destination, as per the Mirror.
It will be interesting to see if Mings is reunited with his former manager Eddie Howe at Newcastle.