Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has had a strange career with England. He is one of the most fabulously gifted players Liverpool ever produced, he became a champion of everywhere with the Reds between 2019 and 2020 yet he has hardly got too much of a look at the international level.
Ahead of England’s opening match of Euro 2024 against Serbia on Sunday, in which Alexander-Arnold is expected to start in midfield, the Liverpool right-back has only made 25 appearances for his country. That’s only one more run out than matches he has spent as an unused substitute for the Three Lions.
Alexander-Arnold’s longest consecutive run of England games appeared in is just four, for starts it is only two.
It has long been assumed that Gareth Southgate was not entirely convinced by the 25-year-old’s defensive credentials. One of his former players has recently intimated that this was indeed the case.
The man who has dished the dirt is former Tottenham Hotspur defender Danny Rose.
He and Alexander-Arnold were in England match day squads together on 17 occasions, though they only appeared in the same team four times. The first of them was actually Trent’s international debut, a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica in June 2018.
Rose was recently speaking to Mirror Football. He shed some insight on Southgate’s view of Alexander-Arnold’s defending.
“With Trent, from when I was part of the set-up, it was probably a little bit evident that Gareth, I don’t want to say he didn’t trust him at right-back, but you know with Kyle [Walker] obviously being in such great form over the years, it’s obviously difficult for any right-back to get in, let alone Trent,” he said.
“But I think ideally if Trent was to get in this England team, I think his best shot would be in the midfield,” Rose added.
Alexander-Arnold’s international career suggests Southgate agrees with his former left-back, and not just because he will probably start in the center of the team against Serbia tomorrow.
The Liverpool number 66 has made 11 of his 25 England appearances in his traditional position of right-back. In terms of playing time, these matches only represent around 43 per cent of his international minutes.
Alexander-Arnold’s now former manager Jürgen Klopp repeatedly rebuked criticism of his young right-back’s defensive prowess. From what Rose has said, it seems like Southgate was not listening.
