Mikel Arteta hopes Ben White will ‘one day’ represent England again despite snubbing Gareth Southgate’s England call-up… as the Arsenal boss claims the defender has received ‘a lot of love’ after his decision

Mikel Arteta has admitted he hopes Ben White will one day represent England again after the Arsenal defender turned down a call-up to Gareth Southgate‘s squad this month.

England manager Gareth Southgate revealed this month that Arsenal technical director Edu had informed him that the defender did not want to be selected for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

White caused a stir when he left the England camp midway through the 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar. There have been suggestions that was down to a disagreement with Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland, which has been denied by the England manager.

White spent the international break on holiday in Dubai before returning to train with his Arsenal team-mates ahead of their key Premier League match with Man City.

Arteta refused to rule out the prospect of White one day returning to the England set up, but the Arsenal boss stressed the decision was the defender’s to make.

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‘I think he has received a lot of love. You just have to see what his teammates and everyone close to him in football says. 

‘I think people have respected. 

‘Hopefully he can represent his country in the best way possible one day. That’s up to him.’