Apart from trying to win the Premier League title with Arsenal for the second year in a row, Ben White is a busy man. Just today, he had two big things to do: to extend his contract with the Gunners and to inform England manager Gareth Southgate that he won’t be available for the upcoming friendly games against Brazil on March 23 and Belgium on March 26 at Wembley. White got a new, improved deal from Arsenal and is now tied until 2028th, with an option for another year. As for the England team, the Island media are already writing that it’s all because the player had a bust-up with Gareth’s assistant Steve Holland. Apparently, it all happened during the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, when Arsenal’s defender left the squad due to ‘personal reasons’ (he didn’t feature in any of England’s group stage matches before leaving).Here we go then.Your #ThreeLions for March camp! 🦁— England (@England) March 14, 2024 Still, Southgate rubbished the reports that his assistant Holland is the reason.“It’s absolutely the question you should ask because on form, I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in. We had a call from Edu saying Ben didn’t want to be considered for England at this time. It’s a great shame, he’s a player I really like. I spoke to him post-Qatar because I was keen to pick him and there was reticence on his side. I don’t know why that is but I have to respect that and I want to leave the door open to him. He’s not available to us but the other thing I would say is there’s no issue between us at all and never any issue with Steve Holland because that has been mentioned and I don’t like that” he said. I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here…Among those who were not selected is Kalvin Phillips, who went on loan to West Ham in order to secure a place in EURO 2024, and in the end, he is in real danger of losing his spot, considering his terrible form in London. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon have received their first England call-ups, and among the summoned are ‘old faces’ Ivan Toney and Joe Gomez. Brentford striker was unavailable due to his betting ban, which expired in January.UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE – ROUND OF 16Second legThursday 20.45: (3.15) Slavia Praha (3.45) Milan (2.25)20.45: (2.30) Villareal (3.50) Olympique Marseille (3.00)20.45: (2.95) Rangers (3.50) Benfica (2.35)20.45: (1.70) West Ham (3.60) Freiburg (5.30)23.00: (1.20) Leverkusen (7.25) Qarabag (12.0)23.00: (1.30) Liverpool (5.90) Sparta Praha (9.00)23.00: (1.80) Brighton (3.60) Roma (4.60)23.00: (2.00) Atalanta (3.50) Sporting (3.70)***odds are subject to change***
