Southgate defends decision to go public on White's England absence

'We've explained to Arsenal we were going to do that.'

CLUB FOCUS: England's Ben White during the international friendly.

Gareth Southgate said he went public about Ben White's decision to make himself unavailable for England duty this month as he would have no credibility left as a manager if people believed he overlooked the in-form Arsenal defender.

White was not part of the England squad announced on Thursday for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium this month, despite a string of good performances for Arsenal in recent weeks.