And so, after all of the social media outrage, the fierce debates over WhatsApp groups and in pub beer gardens and the column inches dedicated to the controversy in national newspapers, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been included in England’s 26-man squad for Euro 2020 after all.
It had looked as though Gareth Southgate was set to swerve Liverpool’s chance creation king for the second England squad running, with La Liga title winner Kieran Trippier, Premier League title winner Kyle Walker and Champions League winner Reece James tipped to make the cut instead.
Consigning one of that quartet to England’s European Championship scrapheap seemed a thankless task which is perhaps why, in the end, Southgate decided to avoid the hassle entirely and just select all four of them.
And the fact that Southgate has picked them all raises the prospect of Alexander-Arnold reprising the role of his Liverpool academy days by lining up in central midfield, as opposed to at right-back or wing-back where the entirety of his 191 senior matches for club and country have been played.
Southgate’s decision to choose Alexander-Arnold might be perceived by some to be a sign of weakness, of bowing to pressure from supporters in order to avoid having to make a bold, unpopular decision. Leaving out the Bens, White and Godfrey, was never going to incite England fans to grab their pitchforks and head on down to St George’s Park.
But to the England manager’s credit, he hinted at Alexander-Arnold’s inclusion – possibly in a midfield role – during his provisional squad announcement last week. “I know people feel I have an obsession with right-backs,” Southgate acknowledged wearily.
“I just see four good footballers. Trippier can play right-back or left-back, Trent can play right-back, wing-back – I think he can play in midfield. In the last few days, I’ve seen Reece James play on the right of a [back] three, wing-back and in the middle of midfield.
“We’re going to a tournament and those sorts of flexible players that can fulfil different roles but are good footballers are going to be hugely important to us.”
Although Alexander-Arnold’s form has fluctuated during a tricky campaign for Liverpool, he ended it in fine form, providing four of his seven Premier League assists and one of his two goals this season, in the final nine games to help propel Jurgen Klopp’s side into an improbable third-place finish.
And for the second season running, Alexander-Arnold was statistically the most creative defender in the division, edging out another of England’s full-backs Luke Shaw. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Alexander-Arnold is in the bronze medal position for chances created in the division, behind two No 10s – James Maddison in silver and surprise, surprise, Kevin De Bruyne in gold.
Southgate knows all about Alexander-Arnold’s attacking quality, of course. He picked him as England’s wide-eyed wildcard after just a half a season in Liverpool’s back four for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His reservations about Alexander-Arnold have revolved around his defensive aptitude and ability to adapt to a wing-back role when required.
That is why he might just be tempted to give the Alexander-Arnold-in-midfield experiment a go during England’s pre-tournament friendlies against Austria and Romania this week. Perhaps Southgate has taken inspiration from former Chelsea goal-getter Hernan Crespo, who has successfully re-deployed Dani Alves – arguably the best right-back of the 21st Century – into a playmaker for Brazilian champions Sao Paolo.
Southgate’s attempts to cram as many right backs into his starting XI as possible feels like a distinctly 2021 phenomenon. Ahead of Euro 2004, it was all about the central midfielders as Sven Goran-Eriksson tried (unsuccessfully) to shoehorn Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham into a flat midfield four.
But the right-back position has evolved and the demands of it have become more nuanced in recent times, to the extent that using one as an attacking midfielder isn’t nearly as outlandish as it once might have been.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/34DwcBa
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