BEN WHITE was not hurt by the boos hurled at him by England fans on his return to the national team.
That’s according to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who claimed White only had positive things to say about joining up with the Three Lions squad for the first time since he walked out on the 2022 World Cup.
White, 28, was booed by England supporters when he came off the bench against Uruguay last week, and again when his name was read out after his late goal in that match.
The right-back then faced a third wave of jeers when he was playing in Tuesday’s defeat to Japan, too.
Arsenal manager Arteta joked that he had muted White’s boo-boys when watching the game, but claimed the defender was only positive about his time away.
He said: “The volume was down so I could not hear that.
“I could just see the big smile on his face and the way he came back from the national team and the good things he was saying about everybody.
“About the group, about the meetings that they had, about Thomas and everybody.
“That’s great to hear because when you send a player to a national team you really want to bring back a better player.
“A player that is happy, a player that is available and fit. That was certainly Ben’s case.”
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Arteta was also reunited with a “buzzing” Viktor Gyokeres this week, after the Swede netted four goals in two games to send Sweden to the World Cup.
But Arteta has already told his players that he wants their full attention to be on achieving trophies with Arsenal before the season is up, when they can then shift their focus back to their countries.
He said: “Obviously, the first day when they are coming back, they are still carrying that energy.
“They all come back really happy to this place and that’s something really positive to witness and that’s an important thing.
“Now they have to focus on the club, and after we play the last game, they can have plenty of time to prepare for the World Cup.”
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