A FORMER Albion star says pre-match curries and half-time fights have prepared him for another stint of international football.
Ben White, who left Brighton and Hove Albion last year, has worked his way back into Gareth Southgate’s squad having not been involved since reaching the final of Euro 2020.
The Arsenal defender didn’t play a minute of football in the tournament after replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold, winning his only caps to date in two warm-up games.
White, who signed for Arsenal for £50 million in July 2021, is now back in the squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup, discussing his loan spell at Newport.
“I don’t think I ever thought about playing for England then. I was just thinking I need to be good enough to play in League Two,” he said.
“It was one of the best years of my life. I’d gone from an academy where everything is nice, and you have everything you want. And then you go there, and everything is completely different. You’re having a curry for your pre-match meal.
“In my first game there was a punch-up at half-time between our own players in our own dressing room. It was a bit scary to be fair. I didn’t want to make any mistakes, that’s for sure.”
After being released by Southampton at the age of 16, White said his career could have been derailed completely before joining Brighton.
Former Albion star Ben White (right) and Manchester City forward Phil Foden
“I didn’t know if I wanted to carry on. It was obviously tough not being wanted,” he said.
“I wasn’t good enough when I was younger. I was a late developer. I was probably as tall as I am now but really skinny, gangly, couldn’t really run.
“I went to Bristol Rovers on trial for three days. I only did two because we were literally just running up hills. Didn’t get a football out at all and it absolutely killed me, I couldn’t do it.
“Then I got a trial at Leicester, they didn’t offer me anything.”
After further loans at Peterborough and Leeds, White broke into the Brighton side last season.
White played in Arsenal’s season-opening loss at newly-promoted Brentford before missing further defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City having tested positive for Covid-19.
“The start of the season was tough,” he said. “The first game wasn’t ideal for me, I didn’t play very well and then I got Covid, so I was out for another two games.
“It wasn’t the start I wanted but coming through the season now, I’m playing every week, the team is doing really well and it’s very positive.”
White was criticised by pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher following his debut at Brentford.
“I saw it, I think it was the first time I’ve actually been singled out. It’s never a nice feeling but it just gives me more incentive to go out there and do well,” he said.
“You look at those two players and what they’ve achieved, particularly Jamie as a centre-half.
“Some of it obviously you have to look at it and see what they’ve said and some of the stuff they said was true that game.
“It wasn’t my best – obviously they’ve had amazing careers and hopefully one day I could have something like that.”
