Arsenal and England ace Ben White reportedly left the England camp in Qatar due to a bust-up with assistant boss Steve Holland.
The 24-year-old’s impressive start to the season for the Gunners earned him a place in England’s roster for the competition in Qatar.
White has played as a right-back for his club this season, appearing on 19 occasions in all competitions and contributing two assists.
However, he was an unused substitute in England’s first two Group B matches against Iran and the USA before being left out of the squad against Wales.
The Football Association issued a statement at the end of November revealing that White had departed the team’s training base and returned to London.
“Ben White has left England’s training base in Al Wakrah and returned home for personal reasons,” read an FA statement.
“The Arsenal defender is not expected to return to the squad for the remainder of the tournament. We ask that the player’s privacy is respected at this moment in time.”
Why Did Ben White Leave World Cup?
According to the Daily Star, the defender left the squad during the group stage of the competition due to an alleged confrontation with England manager Holland.
Aa per the report, White tried to fit into the squad and ‘exchanged words’ with Holland in front of the rest of the team.
The Arsenal defender reportedly annoyed Holland when he was unaware of ‘some key information relating to his personal stats’ during a team meeting ahead of the second group match against the USA.
The decision to withdraw White from the camp was supposedly made “mutually,” with the former Brighton & Hove Albion youngster falling down the pecking order for the right-back position and spots in the middle of the defense.
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White impressed on loan at Leeds United in the Championship during the 2019-20 season before making 39 appearances for Brighton the following season, including 36 in the Premier League.
A number of clubs were linked with the Englishman due to his good form, but Arsenal signed him in the summer of 2021, and he appeared on 37 occasions in 2021-22.
The defender has already made 56 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions, while he has also represented England four times, most recently in a friendly against the Ivory Coast in March.
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