After more than three years in exile and an acrimonious split that never quite sat right, Ben White is back.
The England recall, a first for a player absent since he walked out on Gareth Southgate’s Qatar World Cup camp in November 2022 amid a fallout with then assistant manager Steve Holland, is a surprise shot at redemption.
White won the last of his four England caps in a 3-0 friendly win over Ivory Coast in March 2022, but the controversial recall – to a bloated 35-man group for games against Uruguay and Japan this month to replace an injured Jarell Quansah – was not telegraphed or rumoured.
This is no straightforward call-up, and White’s lack of game time at Arsenal makes Thomas Tuchel’s decision all the more intriguing, particularly when Trent Alexander-Arnold is available and overlooked.
The right back, once a guaranteed starter at Arsenal, has become a peripheral figure, fighting to regain form and fitness after knee surgery and watching others take his place for both club and country.
The 28-year-old has started just five of the Gunners’ 31 league matches this season, plus four of their nine Champions League games. Even when he has featured, the sharpness has not always followed. The assertive runs, overlaps and composure that defined his game, and his partnership with fellow England star Bukayo Saka, has been lacking.
Ben White is back and looking to add to his four England caps, the last of which came in 2022
It is the first time the Arsenal star has been called up since leaving the 2022 World Cup camp under Gareth Southgate (left), after a fallout with assistant coach Steve Holland (right)
And England are hardly short of right-back options. Even with Reece James and Quansah out injured, there are already two in the squad, in Tino Livramento and Djed Spence, who play week in week out for Newcastle and Tottenham respectively. Then there’s the unselected, in Alexander-Arnold and Rico Lewis. On merit, White’s pathway looks crowded.
And yet, two years since Southgate declared that White had made himself ‘unavailable’ for England selection and with 12 weeks until the World Cup opener against Croatia, White has a route back.
After being appointed in October 2024, Tuchel wasted little time in addressing this White elephant in the room. Daily Mail Sport understands that he spoke to White within months of his appointment, to understand the player’s position. Since then, there have been further talks, always gradual and low-key.
Sources say that the German’s personable approach and willingness to acknowledge the context around White’s 2022 exit has played a significant role in changing White’s stance.
If anything, White had come to accept that his international career might already be over. That context makes this call-up feel even more surprising, particularly given how physically testing this season has been for him.
White has endured a frustrating recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery in November 2024 — a ‘minor’ procedure by definition, but one that has proven troublesome for the full back.
The operation initially sidelined him for around three months, costing the defender 21 matches between November 2024 and February 2025. For a player who had missed just seven league games in his first three seasons at Arsenal since a £50million move from Brighton, it was an unfamiliar interruption.
Even this season, White has still been searching for full fitness and suffered various knocks and niggles. Yet there also signs that he is moving in the right direction and has more to offer.
Injuries to Reece James and Jarell Quansah have allowed White back into the England setup
White has struggled for fitness and game time this season but has put in several strong showings in recent weeks
He played well against Bayer Leverkusen last week in Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 second leg tie at the Emirates, showing flashes that his devastating link-up with Saka was back to its best down the right flank.
Inside the Arsenal dressing room he remains a popular figure, valued for his dry humour and understated presence.
White’s hard work on and off the pitch has got him on Tuchel’s radar. He is not guaranteed minutes, let alone a place in any future tournament squad. Others are ahead of him, sharper and more established in the England setup.
But for the first time in more than three years, the door is open again. And for that, White has Tuchel to thank.
