There are plenty of good reasons to go overboard after this passing masterclass from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Quite simply this is a talent that England have to nurture; a talent they cannot afford to waste. Alexander-Arnold is something unique, the kind of player whose effortless flourishes provoke involuntary swoons of delight, and the obvious conclusion to make after this straightforward 4-0 victory over Malta was that Gareth Southgate would be committing an act of vandalism if he cannot find a way to make the most of such a beautiful player.
Wearing the No 10 shirt, Alexander-Arnold simply looked the part on the right of a midfield trio with Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson. He oozed class and strutted around as if he owned the place. There were passes with the outside of his right foot, passes over the top and passes into space. There was a pre-assist after eight minutes and a stunning goal of his own in the 27th minute. There was something new and interesting with every swish of that gorgeous right foot.
This was the complete midfield performance. Alexander-Arnold intercepted the ball, positioned himself well and pressed hungrily. Within two minutes of his goal he was at it again, drifting from right to left to win possession, nutmeg an opponent and deliver the cross that led to England winning a penalty for Harry Kane to make it 3-0. Late on, with the game over as a contest, he was spinning on the edge of the area and setting up a chance for Phil Foden.
There will be a clamour for Alexander-Arnold to be a permanent fixture now. Southgate will be bashed around the head if he returns to the double bolt of Rice and Kalvin Phillips against tougher opponents. The potential for boldness is there to be embraced: on paper a midfield of Rice, Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, who was missing with a knee injury, looks ready to take Europe by storm in Germany next summer.
A note of caution, though: it was only Malta. As Southgate noted, there is a difference between being a playmaker from right-back and knowing how to play in midfield. Alexander-Arnold will have to show he can receive the ball with his back to goal and in tight spaces. The play is in front of him when he is on the right. It is more frenetic in the middle and it remains to be seen if Southgate would feel comfortable unleashing Alexander-Arnold in a knockout tie against France. Could a back four with Harry Maguire in the middle really survive without a protective shield in front of it?
With England in control of their Euro 2024 group after their first three games, these are at least good questions for Southgate to solve. This is a settled side, in need of only a bit of fine-tuning. Control in possession against the better sides remains a weakness. Alexander-Arnold, whose England career has been a story of false starts, snubs and disappointments so far, could be the cure. Here is a player capable of changing a game in the blink of an eye. It remains tempting to wonder if Southgate should have put him on when England needed a moment of magic to save them against France at the World Cup.
Take England’s first goal here. There was little pressure on Alexander-Arnold as he shielded the ball near the halfway line, but he still had to execute the pass. He took a touch, looked up and judged it to perfection, hanging the ball down the channel for Bukayo Saka, who saw his low cross for Kane turned into his own net by Ferdinando Apap.
Yet it would be disingenuous to ignore past concerns around Alexander-Arnold’s defensive instincts. He went through a crisis earlier this season and has only recently been transformed into a midfielder by Jürgen Klopp.
Until that point he had been exposed in one-on-one duels and has suffered because of England’s strength in depth at right-back; Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier have all been considered more reliable options in the back four by Southgate.
If ever there was a moment to experiment, though, this was it. This is the era of the full-back drifting inside, the age of John Stones as midfield general, and Alexander-Arnold has been a revelation since Klopp reconfigured his role at Liverpool.
The question was whether Alexander-Arnold would thrive as an orthodox midfielder for England. He has been a right-back pushing forward for Liverpool, giving them an extra man in the middle, but Southgate is unlikely to be that cavalier.
There is less time to experiment in international football and it did not work out on the only other occasion when England tried Alexander-Arnold in midfield. He was unsure of himself against Andorra in September 2021 and was eventually moved back to right-back, with James stepping into defensive midfield.
Since then Southgate and Alexander-Arnold have been in an uncomfortable place. Alexander-Arnold has been omitted at times and barely played in Qatar.
Yet Southgate has simply been waiting for the right time to unleash him. This was the moment. Alexander-Arnold was liberated, scoring his first England goal since 2018 when he whipped a shot into the top corner from long range. At long last it seemed his international career had taken off. The question, though, is whether Southgate is brave enough to use him against better opponents.
