EPL TALK: Trent Alexander-Arnold must stay in his best position

PLAYMAKERS and the Three Lions are so often oil and water. There are always excuses. Glenn Hoddle was too effete in an era of sideburns and scything butchers. Paul Gascoigne was emotionally brittle. Matt le Tissier lacked ambition. Paul Scholes was not a "box-to-box midfielder", as defined in the big book of English football clichés.

England managers have long mastered the art of finding reasons not to play an artful master, passing that baton of innate caution from one unsuccessful coach to another, which brings us to Gareth Southgate, jogging his way through the Euro 2024 qualification process and clinging to that baton marked “Trent Alexander-Arnold”.

The 24-year-old is arguably England’s most talented craftsman, blessed with the kind of vision, range and distribution that provides gasps from anyone with a passing interest in the aesthetic qualities of sport. He does the prettiest things with a ball. He’s that rarest of things in the English game. A beautiful footballer.

So, naturally, his international pathway must be messy and unwieldy, all the things he isn’t when venturing into an opponents’ half. It’s easier to pick on England playmakers than to pick them. We must repeat the most repeated lines ... Alexander-Arnold is exposed in one-on-ones ... He doesn’t track wingers ... His positional awareness is suspect ... He’s a liability for England ... There’s no place for flaky playmakers.

At Liverpool, it’s a different story. Jurgen Klopp trusted the kid to win every trophy, building a side that accommodated both the Reds’ pressing strengths and Alexander-Arnold’s defensive vulnerabilities – which Klopp never shied away from.

But Southgate just didn’t trust him. It’s an England thing. The Three Lions treat playmakers like an unmasked cougher on the MRT.

Until now. Maybe. Against Malta, Alexander-Arnold was handed the No.10 shirt and the relative freedom of the pitch and reciprocated with a terrific goal and a man-of-the-match display. He’s expected to play a similar role against North Macedonia, should he be selected.

Whether Alexander-Arnold gets to stay in the role depends on England’s eternally cautious manager. Southgate doesn’t typically gamble unless the numbers are in his favour. He put Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier all ahead of Alexander-Arnold at right-back because they were better defenders and he wasn’t wrong.

But none of them walk a ball out of defence like Alexander-Arnold, who displays a level of care and attention to rival a giddy owner walking a puppy for the first time. And that right foot is effectively a Swiss army knife, with every part utilised. He flicks passes with the outside, curls crosses with the inside and clips defences with his toes.

If Klopp keeps TAA in midfield, will Southgate do the same?

Klopp knew this seven years and six trophies ago, allowing his right-back to venture into quarter-back territory, as long as Liverpool had defensive cover in Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk. But as age and injury weakened the Reds’ line-up, Alexander-Arnold increasingly found himself exposed. Klopp pushed him forward, perhaps out of choice, more likely out of tactical desperation, but the move paid off.

In his new advanced role, Alexander-Arnold collected seven assists, the highest in the English Premier League over the same period. He topped the list for touches (1,073) and passes in the final third (275) and also ended fourth in terms of chances created with 23, a terrific return for a team in transition.

Despite Klopp’s expected signings in the transfer window, he’s likely to keep Alexander-Arnold in midfield, which may tempt Southgate to do the same. Perhaps. Comparing Klopp to Southgate is like comparing a serial entrepreneur to a lifelong accountant. One shapes market trends. The other reacts to them.

Even now, Southgate’s concerns feel too nit-picky, like an art critic admonishing Van Gogh for using too much yellow. Alexander-Arnold potentially brings so much vital colour to England’s (often drab) performances.

Yes, it was only Malta and the Three Lions are now in the envious position of being able to coast through qualification campaigns, with or without Alexander-Arnold and many of Manchester City’s Treble-winning party boys. The talent pool is deep. But trophies are generally lifted by talents like Alexander-Arnold.

Suddenly, Klopp’s tactical adjustment and Alexander-Arnold’s growing confidence present Southgate with a deliciously double-edged sword: a peerless, unassailable attacking midfield trio with a weak defensive underbelly, possibly. Just stick Alexander-Arnold on the right, Jude Bellingham on the left and leave Declan Rice as the redoubtable anchorman and Southgate gets to play Gandalf, screaming ‘you shall not pass’ to opposing dugouts.

But Southgate doesn’t think that way, does he? He thinks about superior opponents and double bolts in midfield. He thinks of Rice and Kalvin Phillips. He thinks of Harry Maguire in a back four without extra midfield cover and suffers palpitations. He thinks of one of Alexander-Arnold’s Hollywood passes falling a yard shot and needs a lie down.

He thinks, therefore he sticks another body in midfield in the knockout stages. And Alexander-Arnold gives way, just like Scholes, Gazza and Hoddle before him. And England give way. It’s the natural order of things, with the Three Lions unable to accommodate the unnatural gifts of a prodigious talent once more.

So why not persist with the experiment for a bit? Why not acknowledge the rise of Rice, who’ll soon join an elite club to cement his credentials as the best defensive midfielder around, and test Alexander-Arnold and England’s evolution against better opposition? Trust the beauty to deal with a little beastliness.

Southgate favours players who can contain games, but Alexander-Arnold can change them, admittedly at both ends at times, but he promises something rare in an England line-up. Unpredictability.

The Three Lions may not lift a trophy with Alexander-Arnold, but they’ve won nothing without him, which means Southgate has little to lose at this point. Let the playmaker play.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

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