England legend urges Thomas Tuchel to give Arsenal star two-year ban | Football

Thomas Tuchel has been urged to ban Arsenal’s Ben White from England duty despite the full-back making himself available for national team selection again.

White has four England caps but has not played for his country since March 2022 against Ivory Coast.

The full-back was picked for the World Cup squad in Qatar that winter but flew home after the group stage, with reports later suggesting that a falling out with Gareth Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland was to blame.

Southgate said that he had attempted to call up White since the Qatar World Cup but was informed that the Arsenal defender was not available for selection.

Tuchel’s arrival appears to have sparked a change of heart from White who is now happy to be selected for the Three Lions again.

But former England winger Chris Waddle believes that White should not be afforded the luxury of picking and choosing when he plays and should instead be punished for his decision to turn down Southgate’s call-ups following the World Cup.

‘I wouldn’t bring Ben White back in,’ Waddle told 10bet. ‘He said he didn’t want to be picked again and he spat the dummy out, didn’t he? So now he’s alright to play. So, he wants to pick and choose his England career?

‘Listen, you would never say you never want to play for England. I would never have said that. I would have played if I was 50.

‘So, modern-day players who say that, I’m not being picked, so don’t pick me again, all of a sudden become available.

‘For the time he didn’t play, he didn’t want to play, I would say, ‘Well, we’ll give you the same ban’.

‘So if it was a year or two years, then I’d consider you in two years’ time. For me, you should never say no.

‘Now, OK, if you don’t get on with the manager and you don’t like the style of play, you wouldn’t be picked anyway. But when you get a late call-up, you don’t say no.’

Speaking after announcing his first squad at England manager, Tuchel said he would like to call upon White’s services but wants the defender to prove his fitness having spent several months on the sidelines after knee surgery.

‘He loves to be back in the squad but it is too early now for him given the seriousness of the injury,’ Tuchel said last week.

‘I am delighted that he is back in back-to-back trainings. We are monitoring the process. Now it is a question of getting more minutes and he has every chance and he wants to be back.’

Tuchel’s first games in charge will see England face Albania on Friday and Latvia on Monday – both at Wembley – as the Three Lions kickstart their qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

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