Trent Alexander-Arnold being the only player dropped from England’s starting XI for last night’s game against Slovenia cements him as Gareth Southgate’s scapegoat.
The midfield experiment has not worked. Alexander-Arnold has not been at his best, but neither have those around him – and that’s before we talk about the system, which is failing to let any player flourish individually or collectively.
Quite what Arne Slot makes of it all is anyone’s guess. He would surely have been watching England’s games with interest as he finalises his plans ahead of meeting the few players not on international duty when they return for pre-season next week. But he is unlikely to have gained many, if any, answers to the question of where he should deploy Alexander-Arnold next season — an enquiry which is certain to be fired at him in the coming weeks as he finalises his plans for the new campaign.
This is not the first setback Alexander-Arnold has endured at international level, but events in Germany will still have been deflating. He has made no secret of being keen to play centrally, so to get the chance and end up back on the periphery will have been hard to stomach.
His struggles in midfield with England should not necessarily dictate his future position at Liverpool, where the team’s system is more geared towards getting the best from him. Playing with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz is far different to Phil Foden, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. The former like to expand and stretch the pitch, the latter include players who want to operate in the same pockets of space.
Trent Alexander-Arnold relishes playing with forwards such as Mo Salah, who stretch the game (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images)
Declan Rice certainly does not need convincing about Alexander-Arnold’s qualities in midfield. The Arsenal player called him “unbelievable” in the role and that he is “one of the best players I’ve ever seen”. Rice is far from alone in believing this: after all, Jurgen Klopp trusted Alexander-Arnold enough to move him into the No 6 role in matches at the end of 2023.
It is far from a settled debate, however, even at Liverpool. The question “What is Trent Alexander-Arnold?” can be answered by his profile — a unique creator with an incredible passing range — but it doesn’t solve where he is more effective on the pitch.
If the four players in front of him in Liverpool’s 4-2-3-1 are more suited to his abilities, then who fits best for the role next to him? Logically it would be a more defensive-minded player, but that person also needs to be the controller and conductor — the primary ball receiver from the centre-backs’ passes, facing away from play — because of the risks Alexander-Arnold wants to take in possession.
Alexis Mac Allister is as close as you can get from the current crop of players, but does he provide enough defensively? Others, such as Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Stefan Bajcetic, have shown they can either destroy or control, but not both, or have had few chances due to fitness problems.
What does not help Slot is the likelihood he won’t see Alexander-Arnold until August, assuming England go long into the European Championship. There is little time to work on things before the season is underway and the pressure is on immediately.
Gareth Southgate dropped Alexander-Arnold against Slovenia (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
No matter how elite a player is, adaptation is a process. Give the Liverpool vice-captain 10 consecutive 90-minute appearances in midfield and it could look very different. England don’t have that time and, while Slot has been hired with an eye on the long term, he will be desperate to start his Anfield tenure strongly.
During his interview with The Overlap in April, Alexander-Arnold said he still saw himself as a right-back.
“I’d say I still see myself as a right-back,” he said. “My focus, until I’m told otherwise… is that I’m still a right-back. I come inside and I play inside when we have the ball, but when you write the team sheet, I am a right-back.”
Maybe, after all the debate, that is the solution. This is where Alexander-Arnold won the biggest prizes with Liverpool and he can still invert and drop into midfield spaces when the opportunity presents itself — particularly against lesser teams.
The key is clarity. Give Alexander-Arnold a defined role and let him be brilliant.
Wherever Slot wants to use Alexander-Arnold is what he should stick to. For everyone’s sake, the uncertainty needs to be eliminated.
(Top photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
