Gareth Southgate’s experiment was a brave one and its intentions were admirable – but sometimes you have to accept the inevitable.
Gareth Southgate will surely do so here in Germany after this listless night.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is an excellent footballer, but an international level central midfielder he simply is not.
Of course he’s not – he plays at right-back every week.
Southgate tried. It didn’t work. The England head coach and Alexander-Arnold should put it down to experience and move on.
Southgate spoke with the air of a man trying to let his player down gently when questioned about Alexander-Arnold’s performance on Thursday night.
But everyone in the room could see where this is going.
‘We have been trying to find a solution in midfield for the last seven or eight years,’ explained Southgate.
‘If we hadn’t had Declan Rice, I don’t know where we would have been.
‘Our biggest problems was we didn’t press well enough as a team, so he [Alexander-Arnold] had all sorts of problems to solve without the ball – most of those he did really well.
‘Clearly you’re going to see different pictures when you are in there (central midfield) every week and he’s had moments where he’s played the passes that we thought would be good.
‘I know and I understand you’re always going to ask me about individuals, but the team didn’t function today. I have to find solutions to that.’
‘Finding solutions’ – a term that strikes fear into any professional footballer. Alexander-Arnold will be preparing himself for the worst now.
But this isn’t his fault. The Liverpool star was merely doing as he was asked.
The experiment certainly had its merits. One of the best passers in Europe, the vision of Alexander-Arnold poetically swinging his right leg before connecting clinically to execute his next pass will continue to be one of the most elegant sights in English football.
He can spray those inch-perfect passes around for England, too. But not from central midfield – not any more.
On paper the Southgate’s attempts to transform Alexander-Arnold into our very own version of Andrea Pirlo was worth a go.
But reality has bitten. And bitten hard. Substituted in Sunday’s win over Serbia, Alexander-Arnold suffered the same ignominy here on Thursday night – but this time he was hooked well before the hour mark.
Alexander-Arnold cut a forlorn figure as he trudged off in the 54th minute here in Frankfurt. But it’s better that Southgate and he accept the future before it’s too late.
So, who plays next to Rice moving forward?
Alexander-Arnold cut a forlorn figure as he trudged off in the 54th minute here in Frankfurt
The smart money would be on Conor Gallagher replacing the Liverpool vice-captain in England’s engine room for Tuesday’s final Group C game against Slovenia.
The Chelsea star has replaced Alexander-Arnold in both of England’s matches here in Germany. Southgate admired his energy and ability to press with an intensity that Alexander-Arnold hasn’t been able to muster during the tournament so far.
But, moist pertinently of all, he actually plays in midfield for his club.
Of course, he doesn’t possess the passing ability Alexander-Arnold has, nor does he have the capacity to dictate the flow of a football match in the manner Southgate ideally wants.
But he knows the position, there’s plenty to be said for that.
Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton are options, too. But the duo are 19 and 20, respectively – starting either would be a risk and represent a major leap of faith from the conservative Southgate.
The most mouthwatering prospect is to move Jude Bellingham, who has spent the tournament playing in an advanced midfield role, deeper in a position swap that would free Phil Foden up to move into the No 10 role the entire nation appears to be pining for him to play.
Southgate has wanted to deploy Bellingham in an advanced role because that’s where he has spent his season so brilliantly at Real Madrid.
But sometimes it’s simply a matter of needs must. England need control in central midfield. Southgate must scrap his Alexander-Arnold trial.
