Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold's absence from England's squad for their UEFA Nations League match against Germany has sparked a debate over whether he will be on the plane for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Reds star is widely considered one of the best right-backs in world football, has won nearly trophy available at club level by the age of just 23, and only team-mate Mohamed Salah had more assists than his 12 in the Premier League last season.
Alexander-Arnold missed last year's rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament through injury has made just one international appearance for the Three Lions in 2022 with Gareth Southgate seeming to prefer other players in the position. Two Mirror Football writers have argued the case for and against Alexander-Arnold's inclusion in England's squad for Qatar 2022.
David Anderson - A liability at the back
Few Liverpool fans would complain if Southgate gave Alexander-Arnold a month off during the World Cup to focus on regaining his best form for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold’s defensive displays have been shocking this season and his troubles date back to the Champions League Final when he failed to track Vinicius Junior’s run for him to score Real Madrid ’s winner.
Southgate has long doubted Alexander-Arnold’s defensive capabilities and sees Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker and Reece James as more reliable options at right-back. The last few weeks have only underlined Southgate’s reservations and Alexander-Arnold’s defensive errors have been one of the lowlights of Liverpool’s poor start to the season. The warning bells rang in the Community Shield against Manchester City when he was at fault for their goal. This alarming trend for costly errors continued in the defeat to Manchester United and most notably in the 4-1 debacle against Napoli in the Champions League.
Alexander-Arnold’s inability to do some of the basics of defending like tracking back, prompted Robbie Fowler to question his desire. The Reds legend claimed Alexander-Arnold showed energy to bomb forward, but was not so committed when it came to tracking back and defending. This was evident yet again in Liverpool’s last game against Ajax when BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand accused him of the basic error of ball watching for their equaliser. There is no doubting Alexander-Arnold’s creative abilities and he is one of the best passers in the Premier League, but at right-back he is becoming a liability and Southgate cannot risk him at the World Cup.
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Andy Dunn - Few have Trent's qualities
There is a statistic doing the rounds that suggests only one player in Europe’s top five leagues has lost possession on more occasions than Alexander-Arnold. And who would that be? Lionel Messi, 155 times to Alexander-Arnold’s 154. A bad thing? Well, if you count being ambitious, wanting to be on the ball as much as possible, taking risks, always searching for the pass that will make a difference, then yes, a bad thing.
But these are the hallmarks of truly creative players and while he is no Messi, few English footballers have the imagination and technique of Alexander-Arnold. Sometimes, you suspect Gary Lineker is just being mischievous but when he complained about “England’s most creative footballer … getting splinters in his a***”, he had a point. At least Gareth Southgate has relieved the Liverpool full-back of that problem - he is not even on the bench tonight.
Very occasionally, Southgate can seem to be overly stubborn - think how long it took him to acknowledge the talents of Jack Grealish - and he has little patience with those who drive the Trent bandwagon. When the England manager gave the 23-year-old a spin in midfield, it was almost as though he wanted to prove to Trent’s backers that he could NOT play there. And yes, conventional defending might not be Alexander-Arnold’s super-strong point. But Alexander-Arnold should ALWAYS be an option from the bench. Start with someone safer - in Southgate’s eyes - but have the adventure of Trent to turn to. If Southgate cannot get him in his 23 (and he can take 26 to Qatar) he must have one hell of a squad.
