Kyle Walker has now opened up about one thing that Arsenal ace Ben White did whilst on duty with England at EURO 2020.
Arsenal right-back Ben White will not feature for England at EURO 2024 this summer.
The defender has withdrawn himself from the international selection process. Even if Gareth Southgate wanted to call upon White, as he likely would given his sensational form for Arsenal last season, he can no longer do so.
White came in for a great deal of criticism for turning his back on the Three Lions. However he also had his supporters, and from a club perspective, Mikel Arteta will be delighted that the 26-year-old is set to get a proper rest this summer and won’t run the risk of picking up an injury during the tournament.
White has only represented his country four times, despite having been named in significantly more squads than that.
Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was hugely critical of White for retiring from international duty early. However, the player has every right to take that course of action if that is what he believes is best for himself.
Kyle Walker shares England story about Arsenal star Ben White
Manchester City full-back Kyle Walker has now provided an insight into what White was like whilst he was part of the England camp.
Speaking on the You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker podcast, he stated: “Ben White and Kalvin Phillips, in the EUROs, I think they were trying to watch like four films a day, or three films a day…They’d try and watch as many films as they can in the day. I don’t know how many they went through, it was ridiculous. It’s about filling time, isn’t it?”
Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, and Declan Rice representing Arsenal in England squad
There is an awful lot of downtime for players to fill whilst they are at a tournament, between matches and training sessions. It is therefore unsurprising that they find novel ways to entertain themselves.
Arsenal trio Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, and Declan Rice will all feature for England in Germany this summer. Those three will presumably also have to get inventive when it comes to keeping themselves amused. The Gunners hierarchy will simply be hoping that they can all perform well and avoid any injuries.
Meanwhile, Arsenal fans will have gotten a kick out of how Saka reported for international duty, as he turned up at the England camp with club merchandise in tow.