England are making a mistake by leaving out Alexander-arnold
What we have to realise is that playing for England under Southgate is never going to be the same as for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Since he made his Liverpool debut, Alexander-arnold has been a midfielder converted into a full-back. He has flourished by growing in a side who want domination with the ball, thriving when Liverpool had their usual back four and covering midfielders who enabled him to play as much like a wide midfielder as a defender.
Strange as it sounds for a full-back, defending has never been his strongest asset. He has sometimes struggled in one-on-one defensive or man-marking situations. Naturally, when Liverpool’s back four and midfield were destabilised by injuries at the start of this season, that became more apparent. Southgate knows that when England face tougher nations in a knockout round at the
Euros, his side will go long spells without possession. That is why he is more inclined to pick a full-back he believes is more geared to defending than attacking.
I disagree with leaving Trent out of the squad completely because there will still be times when England face sides intent on defending deep, especially in the group stages. That is when Alexander-arnold’s skills can be invaluable. His set-pieces can also be decisive in close games. James may be suited to some opponents, Alexander-arnold to others. That is why I would pick Alexanderarnold ahead of Trippier.
The irony is that over the course of the past few months, the defensive side of Alexanderarnold’s game has markedly improved. Some of his recent performances have been his most solid this season. He could have been named Liverpool’s man of the match against RB Leipzig and Wolves, when the team kept back-to-back clean sheets.
The problem for him is that while Southgate is judging him on defensive basics, the wider public assess his contribution on the attacking statistics, which until this season have been so impressive. Fans look at 25 league assists