Gareth Southgate has revealed in-form Arsenal defender Ben White does not want to be selected by England at the moment.
The 26-year-old has starred for the Premier League leaders this season but has not featured in the national team squad since the 2022 World Cup.
White returned early from Qatar for what the Football Association called “personal reasons” and reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with England assistant Steve Holland.
Southgate denied any such fall-out on Thursday, when he had hoped to include the defender in his squad for March’s Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
“Look, it’s absolutely the question you should ask because clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in,” the England boss said.
“We, (FA technical director) John McDermott, had a call from (Arsenal sporting director) Edu last week to say that Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time.
“For me, that’s a great shame. He’s a player I really like. He’s a player that we took to a Euros when he was at Brighton, a player that we took to the World Cup.
“I spoke to him post-Qatar because I was keen to pick him and there was clearly reticence on his side. I don’t know fully why that is, but I have to respect that.
“I want to leave the door open for him because he’s a good player and I think he’s a player who can make a difference for England.
“But he’s not available to us and so the only other thing I would say is there is no issue between us at all.
“And also I should say there’s never any issue with Steve Holland because that has sort of been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.
“People can talk about me, and I have to accept that things get said that are false about me. For whatever reason in this role, you have to almost stomach that.
“But I’m not prepared for that to happen for a key member of my coaching team because that is not the reason Ben is unavailable for selection.”
Southgate handed White his England debut against Austria in June 2021, then drafted him into the squad for that summer’s rearranged Euros as replacement for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The defender did not make an appearance in the run to the final, nor did he play a minute at the World Cup in Qatar.
The bombshell news that White does not want to add to his four England caps came hours after the announcement that he had signed a new and improved contract at the Emirates Stadium.
The 26-year-old agreed a new four-year deal, with the option for a further 12 months, the PA news agency understands, having featured in every Premier League game this term.
White says it is “unbelievable” to have found his home at Arsenal but clearly does not feel as comfortable wearing an England shirt.
“I have to respect it,” Southgate said of the decision. “Look, he’s not the first player that at certain times hasn’t wanted to be available for selection.
“So, I’ve always tried to protect those players because I always want the door to be left open, even though on lots of those occasions I’m the one that gets it in the neck for not picking them and people don’t know the reasons.
“But sometimes as a leader, you have to take the flak for others and allow them time to come through.
“Sometimes we’ve had young players that haven’t felt comfortable coming away with England, when I was with the Under-21s and then as they get older, they get more comfortable with it. So there can be all sorts of reasons for that.
“As I said, I think we should respect that. I repeat: he’s clearly playing very well and has been for a long time but he’s not available.”
Guardiola acknowledges Man City 'are fragile' after fifth straight defeat
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged that he is in new territory following their 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, which was their fifth on the bounce.
But despite that, he was not going to hit the panic button, with his side second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.
"We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then the situation is more difficult," he told Sky Sports after the match.
"I've been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. [In the] last eight years, the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.
"There are no fairytales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can't blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done.
"Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it."
Guardiola is by some distance City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies at the club, including each of the last four Premier League titles.
His side visit league leaders Liverpool next week and could trail them by eight points by the time kick-off comes, with Arne Slot's side playing a day after City this weekend.
"I don't know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players," said Guardiola.
"There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row.
"Of course, everything is not fine, but what we try to do is analyse it, let's go to next game and see what happens."
On the individual performances of his players, Guardiola lamented the fitness issues that his side has faced in recent weeks.
"Chances were there. The moment they create the chances, the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normal. Now we're struggling a little bit," he told BBC Sport.
"It cannot happen. When you play top level teams, we can concede chances but it's part of process. In our situation, it's a bit tougher.
"The players came back late [from international duty]. There were a few reasons we're not able to be consistent.
"Of course, Rodri is important, but we knew that for many months. But [John] Stones can only play 45 minutes, Jack [Grealish] has been injured many times, Kevin [de Bruyne] two months and five months.
"We have to come back and freshen our minds. The season is so long, many things can happen."
Pep Guardiola acknowledges City 'are fragile' after fifth straight defeat
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged that he is in new territory following their 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, which was their fifth on the bounce.
But despite that, he was not going to hit the panic button, with his side second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.
"We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then the situation is more difficult," he told Sky Sports after the match.
"I’ve been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. [In the] last eight years, the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.
"There are no fairytales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can't blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done.
"Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it."
Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies at the club including each of the last four Premier League titles.
His side visit league leaders Liverpool next week and could trail them by eight points by the time kick-off comes, with Arne Slot's side playing a day after City this weekend.
"I don’t know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players," said Guardiola.
"There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row.
"Of course everything is not fine, but what we try to do is analyse it, let’s go to next game and see what happens."
On the individual performances of his players, Guardiola lamented the fitness issues that his side has faced in recent weeks.
"Chances were there. The moment they create the chances, the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normal. Now we're struggling a little bit," he told BBC Sport.
"It cannot happen. When you play top level teams, we can concede chances but it's part of process. In our situation it's a bit tougher.
"The players came back late [from international duty]. There were a few reasons we're not able to be consistent.
"Of course Rodri is important, but we knew that for many months. But [John] Stones can only play 45 minutes, Jack [Grealish] has been injured many times, Kevin [de Bruyne] two months and five months.
"We have to come back and freshen our minds. The season is so long, many things can happen."
Postecoglou hails "outstanding" Maddison after Tottenham crush champions City
Ange Postecoglou heaped praise on James Maddison after he bagged a brace to help beat Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Maddison scored twice on his 28th birthday to give Spurs a 2-0 lead at half-time before Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson scored to hand the Premier League champions their fifth straight defeat across all competitions.
The England international, who joined Tottenham from Leicester City last year, has now scored five goals and created three assists in the Premier League this season.
"[Maddison] was outstanding," Tottenham boss Postecoglou told Sky Sports after the win.
"You have to be against City, and Madders was great. He’s gone through a lean spell but I never doubted his ability. I thought the kind of game we were expecting would suit him.
"I thought we'd need his ability to keep the ball in tight midfield areas. I take it personally on myself if players aren't reaching their level, that’s on me to get him back up there."
With the win, Tottenham moved into sixth place and are only four points behind Pep Guardiola's side, who are in second place.
It was just the third time a team won away against the reigning Premier League champions by four goals or more.
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