“I don’t think it should be made into a huge story” - Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville disagree over Arsenal star Ben White’s England snub
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have disagreed on Ben White's place in the England squad for EURO 2024. The Liverpool legend does not think the Arsenal star should make it, while the Manchester United legend wants him added as a center-back.
Discussing the White situation on The Overlap, Carragher stated that the Arsenal defender was not in contention as he was 5th choice right-back as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Keiran Trippier, and Kyle Walker were ahead of him.
He added that it should not be a huge story if the Gunners star was ignored and said:
"I don't think it should be made into a huge story because he's not going to play anyway."
Neville disagreed and claimed that it had to be mainstream news as a talented star was being left out. He added that Gareth Southgate should consider him as a center-back, but Carragher hit back by saying:
"It's easy to say that now after the game, but he doesn't play centre-back for his club and John Stones is the Ben White if you like – you're not going to play Ben White and John Stones together as centre backs."
Ben White opted to sit out of the England matches against Brazil and Belgium this month. He was still unhappy with the situation with Steve Holland, after he was sent back from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Gareth Southgate open to selecting Ben White for the England squad
Gareth Southgate has admitted that Ben White is still in the pool of players he will consider ahead of the EUROs this summer. He claimed that the Arsenal star has the future in his own hands and told the media:
"As I've said to you, the door is open for us. That's clearly difficult ahead of the Euros, where you've got players that have played all the way through but we have no idea of knowing who's going to be available in that area of the pitch. I respected the situation as Arsenal have contacted us. So in the end, I know the conversation I had with him last March. I felt I should back away from it a little bit. But I've always left the door open. I was keen to bring him in this camp."
Apart from White, Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka also missed the friendly matches this month. The forward was sent back after the medical staff decided to help with reduce the workload.