Former West Ham United defender Anton Ferdinand has criticized England boss Gareth Southgate for not selecting Arsenal star Ben White in the Three Lions squad.
The white failed to make it to Southgate’s 28-man squad for this month’s UEFA Nations League matches. The matches against Italy and Germany will be the last matches before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.
Many have spoken of the Gunners’ omission of the defender, most notably Manchester United center-back Harry Maguire in the squad. White has started all seven of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season, while Maguire has only made three league appearances, one as a substitute.
Ferdinand was the last to express his displeasure that White was not selected by Southgate. He told Sky Sport (quoted by HITC):
“I can speak as a defender, you have to play and play week after week. When you don’t play week after week, you become lazy and someone who can’t get their feet to work.
“Can we afford to go to a World Cup with players (like Maguire) who don’t play week after week? I don’t think we can.
The former West Ham center-back continued:
We have players like Ben White, who is at the top of the Premier League at the moment, then there is [Fikayo] Tomori, who won Serie A last season, does not smell and has no escape. “