Why is Ben White being persecuted for his honesty – but nothing is said about Kane or Saka? | OneFootball

KDB wasn’t called up by Belgium so he could regain fitness at Man City. For similar reasons Thomas Partey asked Ghana if he could stay in North London. Gabriel then told Brazil he won’t be at Wembley although we don’t know the official diagnosis.

Harry Kane has been Bayern Munich’s most consistent player since moving to Germany, but Southgate has pretty much confirmed he won’t play either match scheduled this week. Carlton Palmer, easily Chelsea’s player of the season isn’t fit enough to feature on Saturday.

Many will argue I can’t prove how serious any of the above injuries are and understandably talent will not be risked for uncompetitive fixtures if carrying even the slightest of niggles.

All a coincidence though, isn’t it?

A coincidence that so many club’s prize assets are all crocked at the same time. A coincidence that the majority of those names were all able to feature in their club’s most recent outing. A coincidence that most will have recovered in time for next weekend.

How many Gooners are truly worried if Gabriel will miss the trip to the Etihad?

Gary Neville confirmed the conspiracy theory is real on his excellent Stick to Football Podcast. He admitted that Sir Alex Ferguson detested the March international break so much that he would simply refuse to release any Man United players, unless they were involved in a qualifier or competitive tournament. At other parts of the year Sir Alex would make ‘deals’ with managers regarding when, where, and how long players would play for their nations.

The pundits on the Overlap predicted that it will already be arranged between Prem clubs and the FA who is playing how long in the next 5 days.

On the episode uploaded on Thursday, Neville predicted that between then and Wednesday, at least one of Saka, Rice or Foden would join the list of Arsenal and Man City names withdrawing from their international commitments.

Guess what? Later that day Saka was sent home from Saint George’s Park for ‘further rehabilitation’.

Another coincidence?

The Sky Sports man was spot on! How did Mr Neville pick his name out of the entire squad? What’s the odds the 22 years will be okay by a week on Sunday?

Selfishly it benefits my team to have as many Gunners as possible taking the week off.

Certainly, us getting a result against the Champions is more important to me then how England fare against Brazil and Belgium. If that means exaggerating injuries or being dishonest, then the juice is worth the squeeze.

Yet the Sport pages this week have been dominated by Ben White refusing to be called up by the Three Lions.

Southgate again demonstrated his relationship with the media on Friday, with journalists not challenging him any further on the issue, despite several sources stressing that Steve Holland was in fact part of a bust up with the defender, something Southgate denied earlier in the week.

Sky Sports, TalkSport, YouTubers, ex-players, etc, all have had an opinion on a 26-year-old rejecting the chance to play at the Euros.

Yet is there much difference to what White has done compared to Kane and Saka?

To clarify, we have an ex-player and assistant coach confirming that players lying in March to sit out international football is common.

Isn’t any player doing that as guilty as what White has been accused of? Are they too not refusing a cap? Have they just not done it in more of an underhanded way?

Is showing up for training then saying your going home much different to what White has done? In fact, has White not been more honest than his peers?

He’s been clear on his stance since the World Cup instead of Saka, Kane and Palmer taking a spot in the group that could have gone to someone who intends to play?

By informing Edu in advance, White has caused minimal disruption compared to those who have left the camp daily this week.

Kane and Saka though have better PR then White, so their loyalty won’t be questioned.

The only difference is that they originally went to England’s headquarters, White did not. Yet their intentions were the same, not to play for England.

It’s made White more popular at the Emirates with the defender admired for sticking by his convictions, having principles, demanding respect and not being pressured to conform.

I would love Southgate to be asked; what’s the difference between a player asking not to selected, compared to someone who accepts the invitation but makes themselves not available for selection?

He won’t be though ….

Dan

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