Graeme Souness believes Trent Alexander-Arnold has to be involved in England’s World Cup squad despite his defensive ‘deficiencies’.
The Liverpool full-back has been left out of the squad to face Germany in the Nations League at Wembley tonight, just days after being an unused substitute during Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Italy in the San Siro. Gareth Southgate spoke over the weekend of his dilemma in that role, adding: “It's a really difficult position to make decisions on, but we have to go with the ones we believe, and ultimately I'll be judged on the outcome, as we know."
The England manager’s decision to drop the 23-year-old has cast fresh doubt over his place in the 26-man travelling party come November. Competition is rife at right-back with Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier all seemingly preferred to the Reds star, but Souness believes Alexander-Arnold must be involved in some capacity this winter, despite his defensive problems.
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“With Trent, he’s got so much quality when he gets in the last third,” Souness told TalkSPORT . “He’s the most wonderful kicker of a ball, he pings those crosses in flat, pacey, arriving at the sweet spot exactly where he wants it. He typifies the saying ‘he could land a ball on a six-pence’.
“I think he has got deficiencies defending, but what he does going forward far outweighs that. In saying that, I think for tournament football you have to start a game believing you're going to play the very best [version] of the team you're playing against. So in that sense you may start with someone who is a better defender, but you've got to involve Trent in your World Cup squad, you've got to involve him.
“A simple way of putting it would be, if you’re chasing a game he’s your man. If you're going into the last 15-20 minutes holding onto something then you’re not going to introduce him in that situation, but certainly, when you're looking to get a goal he’s your man. He's got the most incredible qualities in that last third.”
Alexander-Arnold now faces a wait to see if he will be on the plane to Qatar come November, having played just 61 minutes of international football since mid-November 2021. The Reds full-back was originally involved in the squad for the European Championships along with the other three options, but later pulled out through injury.
Southgate is expected to name his provisional squad for the World Cup around October 20 - 30 days before the opening match and the final deadline FIFA have set for all squads to be announced.
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