It was as if Trent Alexander-Arnold had decided it was time to cast off the shackles. England had struggled in the first half of Friday night’s Wembley friendly against Australia, who were compact, especially in central areas; a threat on the break, set pieces too – exactly the type of opposition that they have laboured to unlock over the years. Gareth Southgate’s experimental team was clogged up, lacking in pace and movement.
Alexander-Arnold’s first action of the second half was to thread an excellent low pass up in between the lines to Conor Gallagher, which led to a half-chance for James Maddison. That was in the 50th minute. Next from him was a spin and a shot that hit Jack Grealish. After that, a lovely diagonal out to Grealish, again with trademark fizz, of which nothing came.
Alexander-Arnold was playing at right-back but only in name. Southgate had asked him to step up and across into midfield – to invert, as people like to say – to pull the strings alongside Jordan Henderson. Fikayo Tomori would slide over to the right of a back three and everyone else was higher up the pitch.
The system did not really work for Alexander-Arnold or England, particularly because Australia looked as though they could make inroads up his flank when they countered. But by now it was more about Alexander-Arnold’s talent on the ball and, on 57 minutes, he helped to make the difference.
It was his whipped, first-time cross, delivered on the turn from an inside-right position after Maddison’s free-kick had been cleared, that led to the game’s only goal. Grealish did well to bring it down beyond the far post and his shot was turned in by Ollie Watkins. And so Southgate could reflect on a burst of distilled Trent; what it meant for the composition of his team.
The manager also had to factor in the second bit of the evening with regard to Alexander-Arnold, which followed the substitutions just after the hour that included Kieran Trippier and Kalvin Phillips for Gallagher and Henderson. With Trippier at right-back in the 4-2-3-1 formation, Alexander-Arnold was moved to the right of the midfield two, Phillips to his left.
Maddison continued as the No 10 – he would later be replaced by Phil Foden – and Southgate’s move away from 4-3-3, which started in the 3-1 win over Scotland in Glasgow last month, is a part of it. Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise has been the catalyst; Southgate appears to know that he must use him as a No 10. It suits Maddison, as well, but 4-2-3-1 may not be ideal for Alexander-Arnold in midfield.
Alexander-Arnold did continue to show up alongside Phillips against Australia, spraying some passes, looking controlled in possession. There was a moment in the 66th minute when he threw his right foot over the ball and surged inside, leading to a left-footed shot. What was most noticeable as the game wore on was how he sought space to the right, away from the congested central zone.
Southgate was asked whether he agreed that Alexander-Arnold had looked more comfortable in midfield after the introduction of Trippier. He said that he did. The manager also gave a politician’s response when questioned over whether he could play Alexander-Arnold as an inverted right-back against Italy in the Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley on Tuesday. Southgate dropped his shoulder and answered a question of his own about Alexander-Arnold’s performance, saying it had been hard for him to find space until he drifted wider. So, call it a no.
What was revealing was Southgate’s comment about where, specifically, he saw Alexander-Arnold in midfield. “I think he’s an eight,” Southgate said, which was where he had played in England’s qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia in June, when he was very good.
“Although we didn’t play with an eight [against Australia], which is why we got him in at full-back, it is an option,” Southgate continued. “Although we’re having to learn about it in important games and in very short periods of time, it’s something we really like. He’s got qualities that are very different to all of our midfield players and we want to keep looking at it as much as we can.”
Ukraine’s 2-0 victory against North Macedonia means England will qualify for Euro 2024 if they avoid defeat at home to Italy on Tuesday.
A draw would leave England with 14 points and a superior head-to-head record against both Italy and Ukraine, the two sides who could overtake them. But Ukraine host Italy in their final match.
Ukraine have 10 points with two games left and would need to beat Malta and then Italy to overtake England. While Italy would reach 11 points with a draw against England, to then surpass England’s 14 points they would need to beat North Macedonia then avoid defeat against Ukraine – in doing the latter they would stop their opponents overtaking Gareth Southgate’s team.
If England beat Italy on Tuesday then they will have won the group. Should Southgate’s side lose, then a win next month at home to Malta or away to North Macedonia would also take them through.
For Southgate, the midfield is the endless question, with Alexander-Arnold the biggest teaser in the third and final slot, given Declan Rice and Bellingham are nailed-on selections. Maddison is a part of the equation, the currently out-of-favour Mason Mount too. But with Southgate preferring Foden off the left wing, the biggest battle appears to be Alexander-Arnold versus Phillips; control and artistry on the ball versus solidity and physicality.
At the last count Phillips was Manchester City’s seventh-choice central midfielder. With Rodri suspended for last Sunday’s game at Arsenal, Pep Guardiola started with Bernardo Silva in front of the back four and Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic as the No 8s. He would bring on John Stones and Matheus Nunes for the latter pair, leaving Phillips as an unused substitute.
Phillips has started only once in all competitions for City this season, coming off the bench a further four times and, with the Euro finals next summer in mind, the situation is “not good,” as Southgate put it last Thursday. Others would call it unsustainable. “In the way we want to play, Kalvin can be hugely important for us,” Southgate said, and it felt significant that he started Alexander-Arnold against Australia and mainly held Phillips back for Italy.
Phillips brings the balance, ticking many of the boxes that Southgate wants to tick; he appears the neater fit for him. Alexander-Arnold is the game-changer.
