New light shed on Ben White's 'very brave' decision to QUIT England

Ben White was “very brave” to refuse to play for England after the 2022 World Cup because he did not want to let his country down, Mikel Arteta has claimed.

The Arsenal defender has not returned to the Three Lions squad since leaving the Qatar camp after a fallout with assistant coach Steve Holland.

New coach Thomas Tuchel has announced White, 27, is now available again for international selection when he fully recovers from knee surgery. England legend Stuart Pearce has condemned the potential recall saying: "If they let you down once, they always let you down."

But with White in contention to return to the Arsenal team to face Chelsea tomorrow. Arteta said: "From what I understand the reasons, it wasn't about letting somebody down. He was just telling somebody 'I don't want to let you down and this is the way I feel. I think it's very difficult for me to give you what you need'. So I think it was completely different.

“I can tell you because I was very involved in the moment that that happened and I know how Ben felt and that was for me very, very clear the reason why he made that decision, how he was feeling about it and how he was struggling.

"It was about just facing the situation and saying: 'I cannot handle it now and I am not the best person to represent the country the way I feel right now'.

"I think not a lot of people would do it. What he did in my opinion was very brave and not a lot of people would have done it. Whatever the outcome is, what I want is Ben to be happy and that he feels fulfilled.”

Bukayo Saka will next step up his training in a bid to be fit for Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid next month.

The England star underwent a hamstring operation in late December after suffering the injury at Crystal Palace and has missed 18 games.

Arteta reported: “He's getting closer, he's stepping up and making very good progress. So, let's see when we start to throw him in with the team, how he reacts and how fit he can get quickly.

“He is going to be here next week, hopefully more with the ball at his feet than he has had. That will mean he is passing the ball and shooting and running and everything. He has done quite a lot already on the pitch working on his own. Next we need to arrange it with people around him in a more competitive training session and see how he goes with that.”