Darren Bent has expressed his disappointment concerning the ongoing situation involving one Arsenal player following an announcement on Tuesday.
It was another fantastic season for Mikel Arteta’s men, with the Gunners taking the Premier League title race down to the final day as they made another giant stride of progress.
Of course, many of their players will now be gearing up for Euro 2024 and the Copa America this summer, but some will be able to put their feet up a lot sooner than some of their teammates.
One of those who can now relax is Ben White, despite the defender having an outstanding season at right-back, helping Arsenal keep the best defensive record in the league.
Darren Bent fears Ben White will regret England snub
White will not be playing for England in Germany this summer having not represented his country since leaving the World Cup squad early in 2022.
The 26-year-old has decided that he does not want to be considered for an international call-up, with Gareth Southgate confirming today that he has not spoken to White while putting his latest squad together.
The £50 million man is coming into what should be the peak years of his career, and it is surely fair to say that if England have one weakness, it is the depth in defence.
With that, Darren Bent has told talkSPORT that he is worried that White may regret taking himself out of contention in the future.
“He’d have been in the squad because he’s played that well for Arsenal for the last two seasons. It is a shame because you hope he doesn’t look back, maybe not in two years, in five years time and he’s like, ‘do you know what I really wish I’d have just gone with England’. Because you never know what could happen, something might happen with Kyle Walker,” he said.
“It is a shame because he is a top, top player. He’s so versatile as well; we talk about versatility, he can play centre-half, I’ve seen him play left-back, he can play holding midfield, we’ve seen him play right-back. It’s a shame that he’s not going to be going.”
Gary Neville says he was wrong about Arsenal star
It seems fair to say that many Arsenal fans were, probably understandably, not convinced about the idea of making White one of their most expensive signings ever when he arrived.
But he has proved all of his doubters wrong, with Gary Neville amongst those who have changed their opinion of the defender.
Neville admitted that he previously had concerns about White as a right-back, but has been proven wrong over the last two years.
He is now one of the most consistent full-backs in the Premier League, so it is disappointing for those hoping to see England do well this summer that he is not going to feature.
But clearly, White feels that this is the right decision for him right now.
