“It would have been a great time to play the likes of them, to see what they could do” – Anton Ferdinand hits out at Gareth Southgate over treatment of Arsenal star

Former West Ham United defender Anton Ferdinand has criticized England boss Gareth Southgate for not selecting Arsenal star Ben White in the Three Lions' squad.

White failed to make it into Southgate's 28-man squad for this month's UEFA Nations League games. The fixtures against Italy and Germany will be their final matches prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicking off in Qatar this November.

Many were vocal about the Gunners defender's omission, especially with Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire making the squad. White has started all seven of Arsenal's Premier League matches this term while Maguire has only played three times in the league, once as a substitute.

Ferdinand was the latest to voice his displeasure with White not being selected by Southgate. He told Sky Sports (as quoted by HITC):

“I can speak as a defender, you need to be playing games and playing week in and week out. When you aren’t playing week in and week out, then you become sluggish and someone who can’t get their feet working.

“Can we afford to go to a World Cup with players (like Maguire) who aren’t playing week in and week out? I don’t think we can.”

The former West Ham centre-back continued:

“We have players like Ben White, who is sitting top of the Premier League table at the moment, then there is [Fikayo] Tomori who won the Serie A last season, not getting a sniff and they aren’t getting a chance.”

Ferdinand concluded:

“(Against Italy), it would have been a great time to play the likes of them, to see what they could do.”

England notably lost 1-0 in their fixture against Italy on September 23 and will take on Germany on Monday (September 26).

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Ben White and Arsenal have gotten off to a fantastic start this season

Arsenal have been fantastic this season and their defense has been a key contributor. Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and White have all been superb, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney have done a decent job alternating at left-back.

Mikel Arteta's side have kept three cleansheets in seven Premier League matches, helping them pick up six wins in total. They sit at the summit of the league standings with 18 points from seven games.

After the ongoing international break, Arsenal will return to domestic action with a North London Derby. They will take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on October 1. Spurs are currently third in the Premier League and are unbeaten so far with five wins and two draws from seven matches.