There has been a disagreement between Cesc Fabregas and Rio Ferdinand on whether Trent Alexander-Arnold should play in midfield when England ‘start playing the better teams’ at Euro 2024.
The Liverpool defender starred alongside Declan Rice in the middle of the park as Gareth Southgate’s side defeated Serbia 1-0.
Alexander-Arnold impressed on Sunday evening, showcasing his excellent range of passing. Then, in the second half, he was replaced by Conor Gallagher, with the Three Lions crying out for a pair of fresh legs in midfield.
Speaking on the BBC after the game, Fabregas suggested that the 25-year-old grew complacent, evidenced by a few stray touches. The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder said:
“Mixed. I think he’s got moments where he’s superb, others he maybe got too complacent with the ball but overall he reacted well.
“He showed personality and the more he plays in there, the better he will become – I’m not worried,” added Fabregas. Singing from the same hymn sheet, Ferdinand revealed his one concern with playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield.
“It’s the quality. When you get him on the ball, you haven’t got many worries,” said the former Manchester United defender. “He gets caught a couple times and that’s part of the parcel of playing midfield – people are coming at you from different angles.
“Then you see stuff like this – there aren’t many who can do that and change it from being in a defensive position to the final third in one pass. He has that quality.
“The only concern he’ll have with him is when you start playing the better teams and they start asking questions defensively. But, I like to focus on what he’s good at – getting into these areas and picking a man out in a white shirt.”
Then, when Fabregas was asked if Alexander-Arnold has what it takes to play for England against the ‘better teams’ at Euro 2024, he said:
“I think so. They obviously have to sit down, analyse that first 30, 35 minutes in the first half and need to grow from that.
“They have too much talent to play defensive players. I like it that they have the bravery to go forward like they did in the first 35 minutes. Build on this, not regress.”
Jurgen Klopp was forced to play Alexander-Arnold in midfield on a few occasions in 2018, but he didn’t revisit the plan – on paper at least – until 2023.
The Englishman roamed the middle of the park during Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup fourth round before doing the same against West Ham in the quarterfinals.
Across the two games, where Alexander-Arnold featured for no more than an hour, he recorded two assists. Speaking to FourFourTwo in April 2024, he explained that his move infield has been a natural transition.
He said: “Already it’s evolved and been adapted in many ways. I think the first game that worked amazingly was when we played Leeds away in April, right after we played Arsenal.
“We won 6-1 and I think I had the most touches and most passes – I’d like to see all of the data. I thought I dictated the game and that’s when I said, ‘Yeah, this will work, it’s natural.’ I was moving, I was on the ball, I was able to do what I needed and so was everybody else. When you win 6-1, that usually means you’ve done something right.”
