Arsenal’s Declan Rice enjoyed having Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside him in central midfield during England’s Euro 2024 win over Serbia on Sunday evening as the debate over the Liverpool star’s international role continues.
Alexander-Arnold was given the opportunity to start in midfield by manager Gareth Southgate and got 69 minutes under his belt during Sunday’s 1-0 opening group stage game in Gelsenkirchen, before being replaced by Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher.
The Liverpool academy graduate was typically confident in possession as England dominated much of the first-half, with Jude Bellingham scoring the only goal of the game with a bullet header inside 13 minutes.
The performance was not without its flaws, however, with Serbia able to get a foothold in the game and cause plenty of problems as England backed off.
Alexander-Arnold was particularly fortunate to see Aleksandar Mitrovic fire an effort wide after he lost possession in a really dangerous area, while moments of sloppiness did start to creep in before he was taken off.
Alexander-Arnold has come under scrutiny in the aftermath of Sunday’s win, with suggestions Southgate should drop the Reds playmaker for a more solid option like Gallagher.
But Rice took a more positive outlook and admits the trio of himself, Alexander-Arnold and goalscorer Bellingham worked well.
“I don’t need to talk about how good he is, I think you see at Madrid every week and have seen it again tonight,” Rice initially told talkSPORT of Bellingham.
“The match winner. When I’m holding I have just got to let him flourish and do his thing, let him feel like he has the confidence of the pitch to go out and do whatever he wants.
“The more we play together I feel like the connection and bond we have together is really, really good and with Trent tonight, who I thought played really well, first time playing a CDM role. I thought it was a good trio.”
England face Denmark on Thursday in their second group stage game and it remains to be seen whether Southgate will stick with Alexander-Arnold, who possesses undoubted quality in possession.
Gallagher proved a more effective option defensively after coming on and could be backed from the start against a physical Danish outfit.
Opinion on the 25-year-old’s performance was divided, with some insisting the reward of his passing range far outweighs the out-of-possession risks, while others have called for a safer option further into the tournament.
But Alexander-Arnold was not the only England star to struggle in moments on a night where Southgate’s men struggled to get going.
The Three Lions fell into a similar pattern of sitting off after a strong start gave them the lead, with the much-talked about attacking talent going quiet.
Phil Foden in particular struggled to make an impact from the left-wing, while Harry Kane spent much of the night on the periphery of things.
Southgate will likely be quizzed on his plans for the Denmark game. including what to do in central midfield, before Thursday’s evening kick-off in Frankfurt.
