England manager Gareth Southgate has made a startling admission ahead of the World Cup about Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool’s star right-back has struggled to break into the England first-team in recent years, with the competition for right-back extremely competitive.
Having sat out both the Italy and Germany fixtures in the last two weeks, it seems the England manager does not see him as a first-team option.
The topic has been all over the news and social media this week and it looks increasingly likely that the Premier League winner won’t be a part of the Qatar WC.
Glen Johnson on Trent:
"He’s one of the best players in the Premier League. What’s happened is that he has set the bar so high, that any time he’s not at his best, people are desperate to jump down his throat." #lfc [goal] pic.twitter.com/HKy8FDyrKF
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) September 27, 2022
Southgate on Trent
Speaking on the right-back issue, Southgate explained his reasoning for not playing TAA and who is ahead of him right now.
“The other night against Italy, we didn’t need the left-back cover.
“But against Germany, we did because of the way we went with the team — so we needed Chilly (Ben Chilwell) on the bench and we had Kieran who, at the moment, I feel his all-round game is ahead of Trent.
“I’ve had long conversations with all of them and have been very clear with them about where they stand, what they need to improve upon, what they’re doing well, so they’re very clear on where they sit.”
The art of passing by Trent Alexander-Arnold. 🤌🏻pic.twitter.com/EUy9MD5XPP
— Boss Liverpool Goals (@BossLFCgoals) September 24, 2022
The backlash from the world of Football
Plenty of pundits, ex-players and fans have made their voices heard over the issue, with Gary Lineker claiming Southgate is leaving out ‘England’s most creative footballer’.
Gabby Agbonlahor made a bold claim that Trent should ‘retire from international duty until a new manager takes charge of England’.
With Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier all seemingly ahead of the 23-year-old, it makes it very difficult to break into the fold – especially when two of those players played big parts in the World Cup in 2018 and the Euros in 2021.
Having been left out of matchday squads in the last two weeks, its unlikely that one of the best right backs in the world will be gracing the WC.
