Ben White receives Mikel Arteta support after exit from England World Cup camp - 'I know who Ben is'
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Published 13/12/2022 at 17:47 GMT
Ben White has received the support of his Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after the player's exit from England's World Cup camp. White, who started in the Gunners' 2-1 Dubai Super Cup win over AC Milan on Tuesday, left the Three Lions ranks during the Qatar 2022 group stages, with "personal reasons" being cited. A separate report alleged a bust-up had been why he left, but Arteta quashed that theory.
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has rallied behind Ben White after the player's exit from England's World Cup camp.
White's Qatar departure was explained by "personal reasons", but a separate, subsequent report suggested that a bust-up between White and Three Lions assistant manager Steve Holland was behind it.
That notion was refuted by England boss Gareth Southgate, who highlighted the use of "alleged" in the report as evidence of the lack of basis for the story.
"As far as I am aware, the article that was written used words like 'alleged' and so whoever wrote it didn't feel strongly enough that it was correct," Southgate said.
"Ben left for personal reasons. We made that very clear and I think especially in this day and age it is very important that a situation like that is respected."
And now Arteta, speaking after his side's 2-1 win over AC Milan at the Dubai Super Cup, has also poured cold water on that controversial claim.
"We can’t control that [the rumour]," Arteta said.
"I know who Ben is, what he needs, what his character is and how happy we all are to have him at the club.
"Everybody has been giving him a lot of support and love.
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Ben White of Arsenal during a training session at Al Nasr Leisure Land Stadium on December 12, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Image credit: Getty Images
"We know the reasons he had to leave and it’s good to have him in good shape."
White was in the Arsenal starting XI for their tie with the Rossoneri, which saw goals from Martin Odegaard - a superb free kick - and Reiss Nelson.
The encounter also featured a number of youngsters, a fact Arteta was pleased with, whilst also revealing that he is looking for reinforcements to a squad that will be without Gabriel Jesus for the foreseeable future, following the Brazilian's knee injury at the World Cup.
"If we want to develop players you have to expose them in different contexts," Arteta said of the friendly tie at Al-Maktoum Stadium.
"I thought today was perfect to understand how they can compete even though they’re really young.
"We are looking and we are very active looking at the possibilities [for transfers]. If we can find the players that can strengthen the team we will try."
Arsenal return to Premier League action on Boxing Day at home to West Ham.
They top the table by five points from Manchester City after a stunning first-half of the season before the break for Qatar 2022.
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