Alexander-Arnold backs use of VAR at World Cup
England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold insists VAR gives referees the best chance of making correct decisions despite some early controversies during the World Cup.
A number of decisions have been referred during the opening round of group games in Russia, with England aggrieved that they were twice denied a penalty in their 2-1 win against Tunisia when Harry Kane was wrestled to the ground at a set-piece even though the video assistants did look over one of the incidents.
However, Liverpool fullback Alexander-Arnold is still backing the system and says England have the mental strength to cope when decisions go against them.
“Obviously there’s more chance of getting the correct decisions in games (with VAR),” he said.
“We’ve seen officials still haven’t got every decision that we’ve seen right but they are trying their best and with VAR you’ve got the best chance of doing that.
“Obviously you want those decisions to go your way. But we’ve spoken about refereeing decisions not going our way and it’s part of the game that not every decision will go your way.
“We just have to get on with the game and try to ignore the fact we didn’t get the two claims we went for. The result and the manner we won it showed the lads can put it past them and focus on getting the win and that’s what we’ve done.”
Kane scored both England’s goals in their opening victory, and Alexander-Arnold paid tribute to his international captain.
“He’s an elite striker,” he added. “He’s clinical in front of goal. He’s proved that over the last couple of seasons in the Premier League and now he’s proved that in a World Cup.”
Optimism surrounding England’s first opening win at a major tournament since 2006 has been heightened by lacklustre performances from some of the pre-tournament favourites.
Holders Germany lost their opener against Mexico, while Argentina and Brazil also failed to win in the first round of matches.
However, Alexander-Arnold is not getting carried away.
“It’s early days and most teams have only played once it’s hard to compare,” he said. “Teams can have off days.”