With Europe’s domestic leagues breaking for the most recent set of international fixtures, one of this week’s biggest talking points has been Trent Alexander-Arnold continued exile from Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
Despite being one of Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s most trusted players, Alexander-Arnold, 23, has found himself frozen out when it comes to representing his country.
Although he made his senior international debut under Southgate back in 2019, the 23-year-old has only gone on to win a further 16 caps and with this winter’s Qatar World Cup fast approaching, fans and pundits are beginning to ask why.
One person who thinks he knows why Southgate may not have total faith in Liverpool’s number 66 is former Reds’ midfielder Stan Collymore.
“Throughout my career, I played with Gareth Southgate twice, once in Crystal Palace’s youth setup, and again at Aston Villa where he was my skipper, and I can tell you for certain that he likes round pegged players for round holes,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“When it comes to full-backs, Southgate’s first priority is defending and then attacking and unfortunately for Alexander-Arnold, as we all know, his game is very much the opposite of that.”
Collymore is of course correct in his assessment. Alexander-Arnold is a modern-day attacking full-back and a player who is capable of providing the creativity once only associated with a central midfielder.
However, reaffirming Southgate’s concerns about Alexander-Arnold’s defensive ability, Collymore suggested that John Stones and Harry Maguire’s underwhelming form has also hampered the 23-year-old’s chances
“Alexander-Arnold is going to give his manager a whole host of offensive and creative options, but the biggest concern with him is his ability when going back towards his own goal, and that has been the case for him while playing in a very good Liverpool team, so you can perhaps understand Southgate’s caution,” the 51-year-old added.
“I think in Southgate’s mind, he is worried that the likes of John Stones and Maguire, who aren’t exactly in the form of their lives, would come under more defensive pressure if Alexander-Arnold were on the right side of the backline.”
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