Mikel Arteta gives telling verdict after Arsenal’s Ben White suffers England boos

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Mikel Arteta gives telling verdict after Arsenal's Ben White suffers England boos

Ben White joined Thomas Tuchel's England camp on international duty for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan last week, where he was booed by fans inside Wembley

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The full-back was called up by Thomas Tuchel as part of a 35-man Three Lions squad to take on Uruguay and Japan in a pair of friendlies at the end of March.

It marked the end of a three-year international exile for White, who put a pause on world football during the 2022 World Cup as a result of a reported clash with Steve Holland – an assistant of Gareth Southgate.

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However, the 28-year-old's reconnection with his nation didn't quite play out as planned. Despite scoring against Uruguay, England were ultimately held to a 1-1 draw by the South American outfit at Wembley, while Tuchel's team were also embarrassingly handed a 1-0 loss at the hands of Japan in their final match before this summer's World Cup.

White was also booed by portions of the England support in the capital when he entered the field of play against Uruguay and his name was read out over the stadium's PA system – seemingly in response to his long absence from the squad.

Southgate also claimed in 2024 that White had asked not to be considered as part of his European Championships squad, despite the head coach noting that he would have otherwise been included on merit thanks to his form with Arsenal.

Upon his return to Arsenal after the most recent round of fixtures, however, White seemed unphased by his frosty reception at Wembley.

When asked about the boos during his pre-match press conference looking to Saturday's FA Cup tie with Southampton, Arteta said: "The volume was down, so I could not hear that.

"I could just see a big smile on his face and the way he came back from the national team and the good things that he was telling everybody about, the group, about the meetings that they had, about Thomas and everybody.

"So that's great to hear because when you send a player to a national team, you really want to bring back a better player, a player that is happy, a player that is available and fit. And that was certainly Ben's case."

It comes as White could play a major part in Arsenal's FA Cup clash at St Mary's this weekend, as they prepare to do battle with the Saints at 8pm in the quarter-finals of the competition.

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Arteta confirmed that Piero Hincapie will miss the game as a result of a knock during Ecuador's recent friendly with Morocco, as will Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze due to their own respective injuries.

However, the Spaniard did give the positive news that Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard are back in contention for the trip to the south coast.

Speaking about the international break, which proved problematic in terms of fresh injuries, Arteta said: "I think when a player is fit and able to play, he has to play, and I think it makes us so proud that we have that many players in the national team.

"The players are desperate to play with the national team, and we know how important every time that they are together and the time that they spend in preparation means to them.

"We are fully supportive of that, and when we can do it, we do it."

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